Promises
by Chocobo Scribe
Summary: On Hiatus. Summary inside. Something that formulated in my brain after reading some other fanfics then hearing the song: Until the Day I Die by Story of the Year. Post apocolyptic setting in the latter half of the 21st century, please read.
1. Prologue : Losing Everything

**Hello all it's Chocobo Scribe agian! I know you're all expecting the Toothless sibling one shots, don;t worry they're still coming, it's just...taking more time than I thought and I just moved back into the dorms at school...and the plot bunnies attacked me rather vicously...I read some other fanfics, watched a HTTYD Until the Day I Die MV on youtube then things kinda snowballed.**

**Summary: **

**It is the year 2073, forty years have gone by since the end of WWIII, also known as "Raganorak". Nuclear and chemical warfare have mutated most of Earth's animals into man eating monsters and the undead swarmed the land driving most of humanity into the mountains. The only thing that stand between humankind and extinction are the Dragon Riders.**

**Anyway...please R&R...OR TOOTHLESS WILL GRRRR!**

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

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**Promises**

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**Prologue: Losing Everything**

_Small fires covered the island of Berk. Several Dragons flew over the town._

_But they were not attacking, they were defending Berk. Several ships from another tribe surrounded the island some with war machines mounted on them flinging boulders at the town. Such machines were also being manned at irregular intervals on Berk also raining down boulders on the ships._

_And the Dragons and their Riders attacked from above. Arrows, fire, and boulders rained down on the enemy ships sending them to the bottom of the bay. They will not burn Berk to the ground. They will not._

_The Dragons and their Riders take out the war machines one by one sending the enemy ships down to the bottom of the ocean. A loud ear piercing shriek filled the night air, an indigo explosion, and a jet black Dragon and his Rider swooped upwards to the sky. This Dragon, a Night Fury was easily distinguished from his brethren. Instead of both tailfins jet black, one of them was bright red with a white skull painted on it. The Night Fury swooped around over the ships and the town. The fight was going badly. They would have to help._

_Just as the Night Fury began to dive down something knocked both Dragon and Rider out of the air and down to earth._

_Swords clash, Vikings shout, Dragons roar, fires burn, and the stench of smoke and fire fills the air. The fight goes long and hard. But just as daylight breaks, the enemy flees. Berk has won! They have driven off the enemy!_

_Cheers of both Humans and Dragons fill the air as the invaders try to swim home._

_An anguished roar filled the air. It is the roar of a Night Fury._

_**Recovered from old documents found in Berk in 1945.**_

That memory is still burned into me. I am forever haunted by it. The day I lost everything. The whole world may have as well ended right then and there, the day I lost my Hiccup. I couldn't even follow him into the void that consumed him. I had to my horror, found that after killing nearly all the invaders starting with the wretch who killed my Rider, I had been "granted" immortality. "Awarded" with the "honor" of fighting in the Ragnarok.

Cursed was the word I chose. How could ten years of our bond end so cruely?

There was no comfort for me. Only Hiccup could do that. His and Astrid's hatchlings tried, and I gave them credit but nothing they tried worked…Years passed…I watched the world and the people change. Many offered to become my Rider. I refused them all. I had failed to protect my Rider, I had no right to accept another.

Besides…if I bonded with another Human, it would be only a matter of time before the same heartbreak happened again.

The men from the continent came. Arrogant bastards thinking they possessed the truth, how did they know? Nearly everything of the Vikings was lost even their stories, bed time stories, everything. Just because it was different. What was so frightening of the unknown? I had heard of how several years ago some Vikings sailed across the sea just to find out what was on the other side. But these Humans feared anything new and different. That was strange…

The Celts tried to help the Vikings, but to no avail the Normans were too strong. After their invasion, only a handful was left. And during the tumult, I was separated from the people of Berk.

I moved from place to place, new caretaker to new caretaker. Mostly on the continent. I remember some almost happy years with a young warlock, dark haired, blue eyes. He was also bonded to another Dragon, but that one was far away from the country. I could have said a few things about the king but it wasn't worth it…I'll just say that his son was much more satisfactory.

As time went on, the Riders continued to protect the peace of the world. But, there were those who still delighted in killing Dragons just _because_ we were Dragons. They called themselves "Dragon Slayers" but "Man Slayers" suited them better, they had more Human victims than Dragon victims. And their Dragons, gone insane from the grief of losing their Rider, on the Continent, Dragons became nothing more than blood thirsty monsters in Human's eyes.

Most Dragons fled to the East where they were revered as gods. There, they still kept the peace.

I stayed where I was, I couldn't fly; I had no wish to. I wasn't alone, there were other Dragons and their Riders who stayed in the West. Despite the danger and that man who was greatly celebrated for his Dragon Slaying feats. He was called a "Saint" but killing a Bonded Dragon is just as terrible as killing a fellow Human.

Of my many caretakers over the long lonely centuries, the one I remembered most was an inventor in Italy. Unlike most people in the West, he found me and other Dragons fascinating. He even modeled one of his never to be tested inventions after my wings. And it was thanks to him that Dragons regained the respect they once had in the West. Allowing the Riders to once more protect the land.

Years passed, and I saw the things Humanity was capable of. The monstrous things that nearly destroyed the world. Two terrible wars that almost covered the entire world. I lost many friends who were serving in England's Royal Air Force. But others were welcomed home as heroes with their Riders. Only one flight squad from America came through without losing a single pilot, Rider, or Dragon.

Over a thousand years passed since my Hiccup died-and the pain was still there…

**November 2, 2020; Dublin, Ireland**

"Come on turn off the telly and get in the dining room for dinner."

"Coming Mum!" A wiry black haired boy said turning off the television. He had been watching some old episodes of a series called _Merlin_ and it had been a rather good episode too. I lifted my head off the floor snorting slightly. It was my first day in Dublin, Ireland with the O'Hara family.

"Hey Mum, couldn't Shadow eat with us?" the boy asked, "I mean, it's his first day here and all…"

Mrs. O'Hara thought about it for a while, "Oh alright Samus." She said, "We'll eat in the living room, but just today. Your Dad did go to the trouble of adopting him after all…" They had named me "Shadow" the name that Hiccup had given me had been lost and I couldn't exactly tell them since Human's can't understand Dragon.

"Can we watch the _Merlin_ marathon too? Shadow likes that show!" Seamus asked excitedly. He was right, I did like that show, the lead looked exactly like the young warlock who took care of me in that era-he had been the last person to know my name 'Toothless".

"Just this once." Mrs. O'Hara said, "Your dad's going to be late from work again anyway…He had another Elemental Control lecture to give. He's really popular with his students."

Dr. Alvin O'Hara had found me at a Dragon Shelter in South England and brought me home with him. He said that his son Seamus had always wanted a Dragon. I almost had fun on Seamus' birthday last night, that look of happiness on his face when he saw me; it almost came close to warming my heart.

("How did you know I wanted a Night Fury? I'll name you Shadow! We'll be best friends forever!")

Dr. O'Hara was a professor at the University of Dublin he taught a magic class. Eight years ago on the date that everyone thought the world would end Magic was discovered or, re-discovered actually. There was some disaster that nearly killed off all wielders of magic in the 13th century and the trait for being magic capable had always been recessive to begin with. Some magic crystals had been unearthed and now they were easily available and schools all over the world now held magic classes.

Seamus dashed into the living room carrying a plate of meat, potatoes, and glazed carrots in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. He sat down on the floor leaning back against my side set his plate down on his lap and turned the television back on to the _Merlin_ marathon.

(I normally don't let anyone near me, but for children I'll make an exception.)

"Oh! _That_ was a good episode!" Mrs. O'Hara said, "This is the one where Arthur learns Merlin is a wizard right?"

I remembered that actually happening. Though I was sure there had been a girl there, strange, I had seen her the day after that episode first aired. I was sure she was same girl, same scent. Merlin…he was another I missed almost as badly as Hiccup.

We watched a few episodes until Mrs. O'Hara said it time for Seamus to get to bed. Once he was asleep, Dr. O'Hara came home looking exhausted near eleven P.M.

He and Mrs. O'Hara exchanged their greetings before they too retired to bed.

That was one of the last days of peace this world had.

After that day, Dr. O'Hara changed. He would spend days in his lab only coming out for brief breaks never telling anyone what he was doing. I began to have that bad feeling. Something terrible was about o happen but what? Every time before he went into his lab Dr. O'Hara would look at me the say: "Everything will be alright for you again, just hold on a little longer."

On November 15, 2020…the undead swarmed the streets of Dublin.

Panic engulfed the entire world. No one knew how or why the undead had come. Fear led to fights, fights led to deaths, until the entire world was at war once more. While the Humans were fighting each other, the undead numbers grew each day. And Earth's animals also suffered due to the Humans weapons. Nuclear and chemical, who could've thought up such terrible things, even though they knew what havoc they would wreck on the world? The animals soon began to mutate into hideous man eating beasts and caused as much panic as the undead.

Years passed, and the world died a little more every passing day.

Eventually, I was back among the people of Berk-their descendents at least. They had established a new town in British Columbia after "Old Berk" was attacked. It was in shambles, complete ruins. "New Berk" was situated in the Canadian Rockies. It used to be something called a ski resort. The warmer weather was a pleasant change, but the knowledge that the place I called home was all but destroyed…it just added to the very long list of pains that had been building up over the past millennia.

My new home was the Haroldson Family Night Fury Ranch. They bred Night Furies. Bill was the owner of the ranch. He lived with his wife, Mary and two sons, Edmund and Taylor. While Edmund and Taylor were small, I almost never let them out of my sight. They didn't know this, but I did as soon as I smelled them.

They carried Hiccup's blood in them.

I was going to keep my promise to Hiccup. I would protect his descendents and the people of Berk-no matter what.

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**This took me a very long time to type up becasue I kept crying in the middle of it. I kept deatils vaugue delibritly, becasue we'll be seeing those later on, I won't say when though.**

***Sniffle* as for those wondering why I killed Hiccup off, it is part of the tension of the story and the atmosphere for the meeting between Toothless and one of my OCs.**

**Still...*blows nose* this was tough to write...**

**Oh and for the subtle bash on St. George...I just figured that a Dragon wouldn't consider him a "Saint".**

**And how many of you guessed who the Itallian inventor was?**

**See you in Chapter one!**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	2. Chapter One: This is New Berk

**Hey everyone! It's Chocobo Scribe agian! Here comes chpater one! And before we start I'll let you know that there will be more than one narrator for this fic. They each get a whole chapter to themselves. This was inspired by Rick Riordan's style of writing _The Red Pyramid_. Most of my writing style is also influenced by Rick Riorden too. The words just flow better in 1st person.**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

**Standard disclaimers apply, read and review or Toothless will Grrr!**

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**Chapter One: This is New Berk**

_September 2, 2073_

This is New Berk.

It's located in the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia. Just a day's drive from Vancouver. The town, which used to be a ski resort, has been here for over forty years, but over half the buildings are always brand new.

Life's pretty good here. In the summer we have mountain biking, hiking, and ziplines. In the winter we have skiing, snowboarding, and we've hosted the 2050 Winter Olympics. Oh yeah, but then there's our pest problem.

Most mountain towns would have mountain lions or bears. Not us.

We have a much _bigger_ problem.

Mutants and Zombies.

Good thing we have our pets.

_!_

The siren blared deafeningly through the night air as overhead, several contorted winged creatures flew in over New Berk. Searchlights flared to life and the town came to life.

"Everyone hurry to the Dragon Pastures!"

"OUCH! That was my foot!"

"AUUUGHHHH! I SPILLED HOT COFFEE ALL OVER MY-!"

"JUST SHUT UP AND HURRY!"

"Get out of my way!"

"This is the thousandth attack this year! Can't we _ever_ get a decent breather!"

I dashed down the path towards the Rider's Academy weaving my way through the crowd. It wasn't easy, just about every other person was either running for their Dragons or the weapons shop or running around like headless chickens shouting: "We're gonna die!"

Yes, our pets are Dragons. Hey if your town was mutant and zombie attack nearly every week wouldn't _you_ want to have a Dragon on guard duty in the backyard?

Mmm-hmmm…I thought so. So, if we didn't have our _pests_…would you ever like to visit?

Ah, I thought so.

Oh, while I'm running for the Academy, I'd better introduce myself.

My name is Erika Haroldson. I'm seventeen years old and a cadet at the Rider's Academy. Someday, I'll be the best Rider ever! It's in my blood!

"SIS! Wait for me!" my twin brother, Ethan shouted. People are always shocked to find we're twins. Ethan had blond hair and blue eyes, I have red-brown hair and dark green eyes and a spray of freckles across my face. Seriously, we're _fraternal twins_ we're not supposed to be identical. And, I'm older by ten minutes and four inches taller. Hah!

We both met some of the other cadets at the Academy. Sean, a big brawny guy who's at the weight room 24/7 led the others. He's a little older than Ethan and I and twice as big and our cousin. Then there's Greg and Jean, they're twins like Ethan and I but _unlike_ us they do nothing but fight and argue. They've even made the Geniuses Book of World Records for sibling rivalry. Then there's Fred, the human bestiary. He knows _everything_ about mutants and Dragons. Too bad he spouts it out in RPG stats-which can get rather annoying…I already, had to deal with that from Dad whenever he played _Valkyrie Profile_. Then there's…

"A-Arthur!" I bleated hoping I didn't have anything stuck between my teeth and straitening my jacket in mid run. Arthur is _hot_. He's one of the best cadets in the academy. It's his ambition to wipe out all the mutants and zombies. And it's mine to not feel like a total idiot around him next to becoming he best Rider ever.

"Erika, Ethan!" Fred panted, "We have to get to Capt. Geof!" He was never good at running and proves that bonded Dragons tend to look similar to their Rider when you see him next to his Gronckle, Ventus. Fred has a bit of a _Kingdom Hearts_ fetish and named nearly all the Gronckles on his family's ranch after _Kingdom Hearts_ characters. I don't know why he's so obsessed with that old game series…my Grandpa played that!

"Where's Chief?" Ethan asked,-We always called Geof "Chief" ever since we were little.

"In the yard." Arthur said, "Come on, we have to hurry before the Mutants get in town! The quick response teams won't last long!"

We quickly ran into the yard where several more cadets were gathering in front of the hulking figure of Capt. Geof. He's big, brawny, blonde, and has a mustache that is the subject of many jokes. He's also either very crazy or very unlucky, he lost an arm and a leg to the mutants. Thankfully, with the help of my dad, Edmund Haroldson, they were able to fashion state of the art bionic limbs. They're actually quite cool. Chief's bionic arm can change into a machine gun.

"REPORTING FOR DUTY SIR!" We all shouted in perfect unison.

"Awright cadets." Chief said in his thick Scottish accent, "We've got some nasty ones flyin' in. Delta Class Mutants, and we've received reports that some Skullions are headin' this way. No Zombies thank God…" He snapped around to face the assembled cadets, "Roight! Erika, take your team an' attack the airborne mutants, we've got a few Raptors up there."

"YESSIR!" I shouted making a saluting motion. I was pretty relieved I wasn't going to do Skullion duty. I _hate_ Skulions, bit of a long story. Chief shouted orders at the other cadets while my team and I made a dash for our Dragons.

Ethan and I ride Night Furies. His is named Jet who's a boy. Mine is named Zephyr, who's a girl. Their brother and sister like us. Night Furies are like the Ninjas of Dragons. They're the fastest and most agile flyers and at night are almost invisible, which makes them a good choice for night patrol runs.

Arthur rides a female Nadder named Lenneth. He also has a bit of a _Valkyrie Profile_ fettish like my dad…

Sean rides a female Nightmare named Wolf. I know it sounds more like a male name, we've said it countless times, but Sean never listens…his muscles took over his brain years ago…But he is smart enough to wear fireproof gear when out riding Wolf.

Fred, as mentioned earlier, rides a male Gronckle dubbed Ventus.

Greg and Jean surprisingly, agreed on sharing a ZippleBack. The only problem they had was what to name him. In the end they agreed on Siamese. I really have no idea how those two organize their thoughts…Anyway, the ZippleBack suits their every pyromaniac desire.

I swung myself up on Zephyr's back and hooked myself into the saddle lying almost completely flat on the saddle. Responding to just the lightest touch, Zephyr thrust her powerful wings down and we were airborne! The rest of the team followed us into air towards the mutants.

"Here we go again Zeph." I said patting her side, "You know what to do. You fly, I shoot."

Zephyr snorted in reply and put on a burst of speed towards a really big and really ugly Raptor. The reptilian beast roared at me dove right at Zephyr and I, there was only one way to dodge.

"CORKSCREW ROLL!" I shouted and held on as Zephyr went into a corkscrew tumble that would've shamed any roller coaster. The Raptor was hot on Zephyr's tail and we went into a spinning dive. It was almost taking all my will power to hold my dinner down. Even this was making me a little dizzy…a bit embarrassing for a Daredevil Rider. I do stunts crazier than this every day!

Zephyr reversed hard and soon as we were facing the Raptor let loose a powerful plasma bolt that hit the Mutant right in the face.

"YEAH! You got him!" I whooped as the Raptor tumbled down to earth trailing smoke. Zephyr let out a roar in agreement. I leaned to the left to puller her around to head back into the fray. A large pea soup colored cloud was forming above us and Siamese came zooming by trialing flammable gas.

"WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!" Greg shouted waving his helmet like a cowboy hat, "BURN BABY !"

"MUTANT FLAMBE!" Jean shouted and they both steered Siamese back towards the cloud and….

_BOOOOOOM!_

Chunks of charred mutant flew everywhere one chunk hitting me right in my face.

"Hey! Watch it!" I shouted waving a fist at them. They just laughed and flew off with their pyromaniac ways to roast even more Mutants. Now we had a few Grypohns coming. They were mutated from eagles. Their name came from the fact that they vaguely resembled the storybook creature Gryphons. These mutants, how ever did not have the rear end of a lion, they had…snake tails.

I flew in to deal with them with Sean and Wolf hot on our tail. I knew what was coming next.

"Loser buys coffee if we live through this!" Sean shouted.

"Then I'll be sure to get the expensive coffee!" I shouted, "Cause we'll take out more than you guys!"

I pulled out my hand gun and while Zephyr blasted the Grypohns with her fire I blasted them with my gun. A loud _tatatatatatatatatatatata_ sound came from somewhere above me. I glanced up to see Arthur blasting several Mutants away with his sub machine gun in a spray of bullets.

A loud yell and Ethan and Jet came swooping by while Ethan dropped grenades followed by Fred and Ventus who had a bazooka. Everyone else scattered not wanting to be in the way of the bazooka.

_BOOOOOOM!_

Bits of cooked Grypohn and Raptor rained down to earth with an acrid stench. I swooped Zephyr over to Fred.

"See any more Fred?" I asked.

"Got some Wind Vipers coming!" Fred shouted, "Get them tangled up first then only launch fire when mouth is open, venom is _very_ flammable."

"Right!" I said, "Just be ready to blast 'em!" Taking the cue, Zephyr dove forwards towards the Wind Vipers. The only way I can describe the flight we took was that it would've put any precision flight display by the Blue Angels to shame. A few loops there and a corkscrew dodge later, the vipers were tumbling through the air all tied up in knots.

"YEAH!" I shouted punching the air, "That'll teach you! You nasty beastie you!"

Then Wind Viper drool landed right on my head. I looked up and screamed bloody murder. A Wind Viper was diving right at me maw wide open to gulp down both me and Zephyr! I threw myself forward on Zephyr's back and she shot forward at top speed! The Wind Viper gave chase and the gap between us was closing!

An ear piercing shriek filled the air and then…_BOOM!_ A jaw rattling explosion threw us forwards. Another Night Fury, this one with no Rider and twice Zephyr's size swooped ahead of us.

"Thanks Toothless!" I shouted.

Toothless is the hero of all Dragons! He came to my family's ranch when my dad and uncle were kids just after New Berk was established here after Old Berk was flattened by a Red Death attack during WWIII. My grandpa, Bill Haroldson has the ability to understand Night Furies, he's one of the Night Fury Whispers, it's rumored that there are only fifty people in the world with this ability. Anyway, I never found out the details, but somehow, Grandpa had coaxed Toothless to tell him his name and other things I'm still in the process of figuring out. Forty years ago, when WWIII was getting _really_ bad Grandpa somehow convinced Toothless to allow him to be his temporary Rider and after some really nasty events involving zombies and some strange Necromancy research, the war was finally brought to an end.

I can weasel those facts out of Grandpa by playing the "Adorable Granddaughter" but there's one I'll have to get from the Dragon's mouth. Why Toothless is so depressed. He always looks like he just saw someone die. The theory was that his Rider must have been killed, but it was shot down because most bonded Dragons usually die shortly after their Rider does. Dad and Uncle Taylor thought it was because Toothless couldn't fly and made him a bionic tailfin giving back his ability to fly. Dad had told me that once Toothless got used to it, he did almost nothing else _but_ fly.

Zephyr gave a delighted squeal and flapped right at Toothless. I forgot to mention, Toothless is her dad. Toothless snorted and gently nuzzled Zephyr's head. I reached out to pat Toothless but he snorted and flew away at top speed. When Ethan and I were little he didn't mind even if we clambered all over him. Now, he hardly lets us near him, though he hardly ever lets us out of his sight.

If only I could that stupid DragonTrans unit I was working on functioning properly…Maybe I could at least overhear something and try and help him.

"Come on Zeph." I said, "There's more coming."

The fight dragged on until dawn. Just as the sun peeked over the Rockies, the Mutants turned tail and flew off. At least we normally don't have to deal with them during the day, since they can't stand bright sunlight. Zephyr touched down to the ground and I nearly fell off from exhaustion. Zephyr snorted and caught me with her large black head.

"Thanks Zeph." I said looking into her sparkling violet eyes. She crooned softly and pushed me back up to my feet. I patted her bumpy black scales and righted myself. Ethan and everyone else landed around us. Greg and Jean were both spattered in Mutant goo and sooty from all the explosions. Siamese gagged and coughed and a tiny could of flammable gas sputtered out. Poor thing was all out.

"Ugh…I am so dead…" I grumbled, "And covered in Mutant slime…time to hit the showers…"

"Everyone here?" Arthur said also sounding exhausted.

"All present and accounted for…" Fred moaned.

"Ethan?" I asked turning around and saw Jet padding over with Ethan passed out from exhaustion on his back.

"Come on Jet, let's get Ethan home." I said. Jet cooed softly and while I led the way back to the ranch both Jet and Zephyr followed me.

All around the aftermath of the attack could be seen. Chunks of cooked Mutant were everywhere and several buildings had been almost totally demolished. See? Old town, brand new buildings. Already the townspeople were running around starting repair jobs and looking for anyone who might be trapped under the crumbled houses.

It's been this way for a long time. Humans are an endangered species now. We've all been driven into the mountains because of the Mutants and Zombies. Places like here, old ski resorts are now refugee towns and the old cliff dwellings are no longer abandoned. Any other place, and you're food for Mutants or turned into a Zombie.

Greg and Jean dashed past me followed by Siamese.

"That was some flying Erika!" Greg said, "I almost got dizzy just watching!"

"Good thing Toothless got to you when he did," Jean said.

"Yeah!" Sean said running past, "Or you would've been Mutant Chow!"

"Thank you for your concern," I said, "But I would've managed, I would've shot its stomach full of holes!"

"Do you ever run out of good comebacks?" Ethan asked from behind me.

"Ah, welcome back to the living Ethan." I said turning around. Ethan pushed himself up on Jet's back and groaned stretching.

"Aw man…I think that attack had to be one of the worst…" Ethan said sliding off Jet.

"Yeah…"I said, "But at least we didn't have to deal with Zombies." Don't get me started on Zombies. They're much worse than the Mutants, one injury from a Zombie, and you're one of them. The Zombies are another reason why Humans are becoming an endangered species and why we've all been driven into the mountains. Our deaths just increase their numbers and they're already dead so we can't exactly kill them. Only Dragon fire can destroy Zombies and Dragons mostly live in the mountains so anywhere near Dragon dens is one of the safest places to be.

"Come on." I said, "Let's get home before Mom and Grandpa get too worried."

"And Toothless…" Ethan said.

"He's always worried about us." I said, "Why do you think he follows us around half the time?" He seemed to think that Ethan and I were his hatchlings. We reached the entrance to the ranch and once we got the saddles of Zephyr and Jet they bounded off to join their parents, Toothless and Aria in the pastures.

"Mom! Grandpa!" I shouted, "We're back."

Our mom, Alicia Chan-Haroldson, a tall woman with short black hair came rushing over to meet us with Grandpa bringing up the rear. Mom threw her arms around us clearly relieved to see us alive and in one piece.

A quick word about our mom, she came from Hong Kong when she was in high school and lived for some time here in New Berk where she met our dad. They started dating then eventually fell in love, got married, and had us.

"Thank God you two are alright!" Mom sobbed into Ethan's hair, "You have no idea what these Mutant attacks do to me!"

"Mom, we're okay!" I said, "You know our Dragons wouldn't let anything bad happen to us, and Toothless would bite off his own wings rather than let us get do much as slight bruising."

"I'm your mom," Mom said, "I'm supposed to worry about you." She released us, "You two get some rest then get to work on the ranch."

"Wait, was there any news about Dad?" Ethan blurted out.

Our dad, disappeared four years ago while helping a small village in Russia. The town was being attacked by Mutants and Zombies and the Prime Minister of Russia specially asked for Dad to help. Shortly after he arrived, he just vanished.

Mom shook her head, "No…Col. Yuri did call, but they still haven't found Dad, or Nova."

Nova is the name of Dad's Night Fury. Like Ethan and I, Dad had Nova since he was a hatchling. Dad was really respected among the Dragon Riders, even abroad. Commander Edmund Haroldson, he had groupies everywhere. He _lived_ for everything the Dragons stood for. You'd think he was a knight of Camelot in a past life.

I yawned.

"You two get to bed," Grandpa said, "You look ready to drop."

"Yeah…sure…" Ethan said also yawning as we stumbled to the house.

I was practically sleep walking by the time I got to my room. When I opened the door I was greeted by four pairs of baby Night Fury eyes.

"Heya carpet sharks, I'm still alive." I said, every time I came back they always gave me the "I thought you were dead!" look. A small squeal later and one of the hatchlings leapt into my arms.

"Not now Blue…"I said indicating from the blue ribbon tied around his neck, "I need to sleep."

I set Blue down on the bed and changed into my pajamas while another Night Fury hatchling wrapped herself around my ankles like a cat purring loudly. Let me warn you, baby Night Furies are disturbingly cute and will send most people into fits of going "Awwwww…." And saying : "I want to take them all home!" and rolling around in the grass all dignity thrown to the wind letting the little dragons climb all over them.

I climbed into bed and soon as I had the covers over me, all four baby Night Furies, Blue, Vio, Red, and Green all jumped up onto my bed and snuggled up against me. Within seconds I was sound asleep.

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**For the opening of erika's chapter I deliberialty tried to make it similar to the opening scene from HTTYD but with some stark contrasts. As for Geof, you should be able to guess who he's based on. Erika and Ethan's dad was based on Bowen from Drgaonheart but when he goes into "Dad mode" in flashbacks he'll be a bit like the dad from The Parent Trap.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be on the look out fir the next one: Tomatoes and Practical Jokes.**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	3. Chapter Two: Tomatos and Practical Jokes

**Okay, here we are with the second chapter! As far as narrators go, I'm trying to keep a pattern so all five get equal screen time. Been pretty busy latly saw Beauty and the BEast at Golden Gate theatre over the weekend, it was AMAZING!**

**Oh yeah, some characters from Lilo and Stitch will be making a cameo appearance in this chapter too.**

**Ah, enough before i go into pointless prattle.**

**Standard Disclaimers apply**

**Read and Review or Toothless will Grrr!**

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**Chapter Two: Tomatoes and Practical Jokes**

Tomatoes have only two good uses in this world. Campbell's Tomato Soup and projectiles for practical jokes any other use is total rubbish. Even after the near disaster last night, I was still up to no good designing yet another booby trap and hoping someone would fall into my newest pit trap, except Erika, she'd murder me if she did. Trust me; she can get _really_ scary when she's mad.

I scribbled out a possible design for an automatic slingshot on the back of some "Adopt a Dragon Today!" posters while I was waiting for customers at the adoption table. It's purpose? Flinging tomatoes at anyone who walked by. Erika says I'm an idiot designing these things, but she's not having much luck with that DragonTrans unit either. One time she almost got it working, but said she heard all the Dragons talking in Japanese.

"No…too noticeable…" I mumbled crossing out another rejected design crumpling the paper up and tossing it over my shoulder.

_FWOOOSH!_

Scout, our Terror, swooped up and incinerated the crumpled up paper. She's not much in a fight, but she's really good at scouting ahead and for recon.

"Nice one Scout." I said. Scout squawked and zoomed over to the door as it opened. Customers!

"Welcome to the Haroldson Ranch Adoption Center, how can I help you?" I asked straightening the orange apron emblazoned with a chibified Night Fury.

Two very familiar people stepped into the room. Nani and Lilo, our friends from Hawaii. Five years ago, Dad rescued them when Kauai was overrun by Mutants and Red Deaths. Nani and Lilo are sisters, Nani is the older one Lilo the younger. They both have tanned skin and black hair. They also came here with Nani's boyfriend David, who's been working on the Ranch ever since they came here.

"Hey, Nani, Lilo!" I said, "How are you? Finally decided to add in the scaly member of the family?"

"Aloha Ethan." Nani said, "Yes, we figured it was about time. Lilo's been pestering me for some time." I straightened up and pulled out the roster of adoptable Night Furies.

"Are you looking for a hatchling or someone a little more grown up?" I asked opening it half hoping they wouldn't pick Coal, one of Toothless' hatchlings. Coal has some...issues.

"A hatchling." Nani said leaning against the counter.

"Any particular traits you had in mind?" I asked.

"Easy to train, not too hyper, great with little kids, won't die without warning, in a word: sturdy…" Nani said.

"Like a lobster!" Lilo added in helpfully and it took all my willpower not to start laughing. Nani turned to face Lilo and got down on her knees to get to eye level with her sister.

"Lilo. You lolo!" Nani scolded, "Do they have _lobsters_ here? No! They have _Dragons_. We are getting a _Dragon_!"

I lifted up the flap on the counter, "The hatchlings are all out playing in the yard, take your time." I said to Lilo.

"Go on," Nani said giving Lilo a little push, "Pick someone out." Lilo walked through the door and out into the yard.

"How have you and David been managing?" I asked turning to face Nani.

"Oh just fine." Nani said, "We make ends meet with David's job here, and my job at the Ski Shak."

"Oh, how's business at the coffee house?" I asked. Leaning on the counter on my elebows.

"Droves of customers 24/7 as usual. The Kona Bled is the most popular." Nani said, "How's David doing here?"

"Well, he's not getting tackled anymore." I said chuckling slightly. As if on cue, David came in with a large cooler full of food for the hatchlings. David is also from Hawaii, he used to be a fire dancer for a luau style restaurant. He still puts on performances during the Thor's Day Thursday Festival, he's really amazing at it, especially when he "breathes" fire.

"Hey David!" I said, "What's for breakfast?"

"Icelandic Cod." David said, "And some Mahi mahi." He hefted the cooler further up onto his shoulder, "Nani, my shift will be over around four, I'll meet you and Lilo at the Coffee House."

"And an iced caramel macchiato will be waiting for you." Nani said.

"Well, better go feed the little ones." David said going through the door to the yard. I turned to face Nani again.

"So, are all the hatchlings adoptable?" she asked.

"Oh sure." I said joining Nani on the other side of the counter, "All our Dragons are adoptable." I turned to look out the door as I heard Lilo come back…and my heart jumped into my throat as I recognized the Night Fury she had with her!

"EXCEPT _THAT_ ONE!" I shouted diving at the Dragon, "HE'S A HUGE TROUBLE MAKER!" Nani getting my hint also made a dive for Lilo and we managed to separate the two. I had been in such a panic I didn't realize I was holding the Night Fury upside down.

"I _like_ him!" Lilo said, "C'mere boy!" she whistled and gestured for the Night Fury to come to her.

"AGH!" The Night Fury squirmed around in my arms furiously before finally kicking me in the ribs and pushing off and knocking Nani flat on her back!

"Nani!" I yelped and ran over, "I am SO sorry! I'll put him back right now!"

"No!" Lilo said hugging the little Dragon protectively, "I want to adopt him, he's the one."

"Are you sure?" I asked, "We have other hatchlings…ones that won't demolish the house."

Nani and I glanced at the Night Fury who had decided to pee under one of the chairs.

"Yes, he's good." Lilo said, "I can tell."

I sighed in defeat and went behind the counter and pulled out the adoption forms.

"Okay, you're gonna have to think of a name." I said pen poised for writing.

"His name is…" Lilo paused to think, "His name is Stitch."

_Stitch?_ I thought, "That's a really weird name-."

Nani flashed me a warning glare.

"…In…Iceland." I said recovering fast, "But here, it's perfectly fine! Stitch it is." We finished the adoption process and fifteen minutes later, Nani, Lilo, and Stitch were out the door. I groaned in exhaustion and grabbed some cleaning supplies. I didn't want anyone slipping and breaking their neck. Soon as the floor was clean I put up a "caution, wet floor sign".

I sure hoped Lilo knew what she was getting herself into…Stitch was quite a trouble maker…Grandpa said he got that bit of information right from Toothless. I sat down back behind the counter and pulled my booby trap plans back towards me. I put in my iPod and started listening to some music.

"Ethan…" someone said, "OI! ETHAN!"

I jumped in my seat and came face to face with Erika holding a microwaveable Campbell's Soup at Hand and a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. Shew as also waering the same orange apron I had on

"I brought you lunch." She said setting the food down in front of me, "And, give it a rest with your practical jokes, you nearly killed that new kid with your pit trap."

"Oh I remember that…brilliant…I even got it on video…" I said wistfully.

"And I deleted it." Erika said grumpily. She always does that! Grrr….why can't she have s good sense of humor instead of sarcasm? Then again, she never runs out of snarky come backs. It seems to skip every few generations in the family…

"Why do you keep deleting my videos!" I protested.

"I am NOT letting those get all over the internet." Erika said. Just because she's ten minutes older than me doesn't mean she's the boss of me!

"I wouldn't do that!" I shouted, "I kept them as a record of my pranks so I wouldn't do the same thing twice!"

"Whatever." Erika said turning on her heel her off center pony tail whipping around her head, "I'm gonna go check on Sal and Ben. Sal's eggs are due to hatch any day now." Sal and Ben are another mated Night Fury pair. They'd been on the ranch for ten years now, Sal, the female had laid her third set of eggs a few months ago. I stuck my tongue out at Erika's back.

"Are you sticking your tongue out at me!" she accused whipping around. I swear that girl's got eyes in the back of her head; when she's not getting all mushy over Arthur.

I sank back down into my seat and ate my lunch.

Soon as my shift was over, I had one of our temps take over and I went out to start building my new tomato chucking device and checking my cell phone to see if anyone fell into my pit trap. After three hours and two rolls of duct tape later I had a rather simple sling shot in my hands. I decided to go David and Goliath this time with the tomatoes. Now, where was my first victim? With a few roma tomatoes on hand I stuffed my duct tape sling shot into a pocket and ran out into town.

"Hey Ethan, how about giving us a hand with the tents?"

"Huh?" I said whipping around to see Grandpa.

"You didn't forget did you? The Thor's Day Thursday Festival is coming up in a few weeks! We have to get ready for all the visitors and tourists."

"I didn't forget, I was just doing…something else…" I said slightly defensively.

"Looking for another prank victim?" Grandpa said, "Toothless already told me about your blueprints."

I dropped my tomatoes causing them to splatter all over my feet, "Wait…Toothless? He was watching me through the window!" I turned around and…speak of the devil…the over protective Night Fury was practically breathing down my neck!

"Toothless!" I yelped back peddling away. Toothless just snorted and gave me a "Dude, you fail" look. I shot back my most obnoxious glare. Toothless just rolled his eyes grumbled something then turned and stalked away picking up some festival supplies in his powerful jaws. I turned to face Grandpa.

"What did he say?" I asked hoping for a translation.

"I don't think it requires translation but he was calling you an idiot." Grandpa said picking up another bag of festival supplies and dumping it into my arms. He may be pushing eighty years old, but he's in really good shape!

I staggered behind Grandpa under the weight of what I suspected was bricks.

I guess you're wondering about this "Thor's Day Thursday Festival". It commemorates the defeat of the Red Death by the First Rider. No one's really sure how long ago it was but we're guessing roughly over a thousand from some old documents recovered from Old Berk, we think he might have been a Viking. The only thing we know for sure is that the Dragon he bonded with was a Night Fury. The whole story is in the epic _The Tale of the First Rider_. Lame title I know. Anyway, once a year the whole town holds the Thor's Day Thursday festival. The religious parts of it kinda pettered out over time so now on the outside it's called "The Dragon Festival". Now, it's basically a Viking themed Renaissance faire with Dragons.

I dropped the sack with a grunt of relief when Grandpa finally stopped.

"Can I go now?" I asked I wanted to get on with my pranks.

"No," Grandpa said, "you're going to help me set up the dunking booth."

So that was why the sack was so heavy…I started to pull out the parts when my cell phone started vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out to check it.

And a huge smile spread across my face as I saw my pit trap victims. Greg and Jean.

"ETHAN!" Greg shouted, "YOU ARE SO DEAD WHEN WE GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Ethan!" Grandpa snapped whirling on me, "Who did you dump into a pit this time?"

I knew what I had to do, run! I sprinted away as fast as I could laughing and looking for Jet. I didn't want to be nearby when Greg and Jean got out of my pit trap. Besides, I had heard there was a new kid coming to the Academy; I think I'd welcome him or her with a nice, good old fashioned initiation prank.

Now, what to do? The Pit fall was getting old, maybe something to do with tomatoes…If only I could make plans without Toothless watching…

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**If you're wondering about that modified Lilo and Stitch Scene...the thought tempted me and I couldn't resist. i was also trying to give an idea of life in New BErk when Mutants aren't attacking. This is a post apocolyptic enviroment, but everyone's trying to find some sense of normalcy and rebuild after that messy war and thorugh the Mutant and Zombie attacks.**

**If anyone has any ideas for what kinds of practitcal jokes Ethan should do, I welcome suggestions just keep it tasteful okay?**

**Anyways, keep on the lookout for Chapter Three: Escape**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	4. Chapter Three: Escape

**Time to welcome our fourth narrator! And time for chapter three! I hope I got everything ok, I normally don;t post stuff in the middle of the night.**

**Anyway, I have class tomorrow and I'm getting sleepy...so...*yawns***

**Standard disclaimers apply Read and Review or Toothless will Grrr!**

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**Chapter Three: Escape**

_September 4, 2073 Midnight, several miles west of New York City_

I just barely got the train in time. It was almost at full speed by the time I jumped on. Trying to hang onto the train and my ski cap at the same time I slid the boxcar door open and got inside. I stumbled forward with the movement of the train and once I got my balance back, slid it shut.

Panting heavily I found a spot to sit down and turned on my camping lantern. A few other people were also inside too. Hobos, refugees, wizard drop outs, and people like me, runaways. I pulled my jacked closer around me and pulled my knees up to my chest getting ready to sleep.

All I need to tell you is that I'm never going back to New York. It wasn't even my home town, Vancouver was.

My name is Liam Reynolds. I'm seventeen years old. I'm pretty easy to spot, dark red hair, bright green eyes, freckles. I'd lived in New York City ever since I was five, but it wasn't like one of my parents got a job there, no far from it. I was kidnapped by my own mother and brought cross country into the States into the concrete jungle of NYC. I had only recently gotten in contact with my dad.

Now, I was on my way back to British Columbia. Dad had made arrangements for me to be enrolled at New Berk's Rider Academy. Ever since I found that my grandpa had been one, I felt I found my calling. Mom wasn't too thrilled about that…and I tasted the frying pan….again…She's always beating me up. Ever since she found out I could understand Night Fury speech. I mean, the ability's rare enough, only fifty other people are said to have the ability (fifty one including me) but not to the point of having to be called "freak".

"Hey you hungry boy?"

"Huh?" I looked up to see one of the hobos offering me a mug of soup. One of the other hobos or refugees had gotten a small heating unit up and running. My stomach growled at the smell of the soup, I hadn't eaten for almost two days.

"Thanks." I said taking the mu blowing on it slightly then took a sip. The soup tasted delicious after two days of nothing. Best part, it was Campbell's Tomato Soup. Now…if only we had some grilled cheese sandwiches…I finished my soup and after two more mugfuls, fell fast asleep. I was going to be on this train for a few days until it pulled into Toronto, might as well get comfortable…

Two days later the train started to pull into Toronto, I and the other stowaways leapt off a few miles before it reached the station. My duffle bag thudded against my back as I landed rather roughly causing my knees to buckle. Soon as I regained my footing I followed the tracks into Toronto Station. From there I'd get transport to Alberta. I only had enough money for an airship ticket to Edmonton, Alberta. And that was because I stowed away on the train _here_. Besides, it was Dad's idea that I leave New York as discreetly as I could.

"Okay…which way to the airship docks..?" I muttered to myself hefting my duffle bag higher up onto my shoulder. I walked around hoping to find a sign or a map. All around me people were shuffling about with luggage and kids and small Dragons.

"Excuse me!" I said to the first platform guard I spotted, "Excuse me where's the airship docks?"

The guard turned to face me, "Ah, right down the way through the food court. Follow anyone with a large Dragon and you'll get there."

"Why would someone with a Dragon need to take an airship?" I asked.

"Eh? Long distance travel," the guard said, "And some areas are still very fallout heavy. Too dangerous to go in there yourself."

"Thanks." I said, "I'll be on my way." I turned to go when the guard stopped me.

"You might want to get your tickets first son."

"Oh…right…" I said flushing a little, "That would help….which way to the ticket booth?"

The guard pointed to a large kiosk in the center of the station, "Right there. And do yourself a favor and get some food, you look ready to keel over."

"I will, thanks." I said then headed over to get my tickets. I was glad I managed to get Canadian dollars before I left New York. I had enough left over to get some lunch. I took the guard's advice. I ran over to the food court and over to the first sandwich shop I could find.

"One hero with chips please." I said and the girl at the counter gave me a blank look.

"A…hero..?" she asked.

"Uhhh….sandwich!" I bleated, "One sandwich with chips."

"Oh, okay." The girl said, "What would you like on it?"

"Pastrami and everything except jalapenos." I said, "oh and on an everything bagel please."

"You from New York kid?" She asked as she assembled my sandwich.

"Yeah." I said getting some soda from the fountain, "How could you tell?"

"Your accent and the "hero" thing." The girl said, "Oh for the chips did you mean fries or potato chips?"

"Potato chips." I said.

"For here or to go?" the girl asked wrapping up my sandwich.

"To go." I said, I'd eat on my way to Edmonton. I paid for my lunch and headed for the airship docks. The guard had been right, there were several Dragons also boarding the airships. Now, which one was headed for Edmonton? I looked up at the arrivals and departures board.

"Dock…86…" I read aloud, "Okay. New Berk, here I come." And dashed down the platforms to Dock 86. All around me people went this way and that and hawkers shouted out to passersby selling food, trinkets, and giving henna tattoos. Dragons snoozed on the brick floor snoring and I was able to catch a bit of what the Night Furies were mumbling in their sleep.

"_Hmmm….ten more minutes…."_

"_No….no eels…"_

I smiled slightly. Night Furies really were overgrown puppies sometimes. By the time I reached Dock 86 I really did feel ready to pass out. I hoped I could get on board so I could eat and rest my eyelids felt like lead as did the rest of me. Yawning I got on line which was moving sluggishly along. The kid ahead of me had a tiny Night Fury hatchling resting on her shoulder who was blinking at me curiously. I was way too tired to even try to talk, which showed just how exhausted I was. Normally whenever I see a Night Fury I always strike up conversation with them. You find out the strangest things from wild Dragons.

"We hope you enjoy your flight sir." The ticket taker said, "Compartments are just down the hallway, we hope you find them comfortable." I took the stub and stumbled down the hallway until I found an empty compartment. I went in and soon as I was sitting down on the sofa gorged on my lunch. It tasted _so_ good after the canned stuff shared with the people on the train. I slurped down my soda after polishing off the potato chips. Speaking of which…if they call fries "chips" here in Canada, what do they call potato chips?

"That hit the spot…"I said sleepily lowering the straw from my lips and setting it down on the small table. Time for some sleep. I was so exhausted, I was sure by the time I woke up, we'd be at Edmonton. I pulled down the shades for the window and put up the "Do not Disturb" notice on the door. Then finally, taking off my boots, I stretched out on the sofa and almost instantly fell into a deep and dreamless sleep…

"We have now arrived at Edmonton Airport please properly dispose of all garbage." A loud voice on the intercom said then said the same thing in French. I sat bolt upright my hair in a rat's nest wide awake. I quickly finger combed my hair and pulled my ski cap back on and hefted my duffle bag onto my back. After dumping my trash into a nearby trash can I followed everyone off the airship.

Okay, I was in Alberta, British Columbia was just the next province over. If I could just get a map and directions, I could get to New Berk on foot.

_Now…where can I get those free maps?_ I glanced around the Airport which was full of sleepy looking people. I checked my watch which automatically adjusted to time zones. It was five in the morning, but for me, it felt like eight in the morning.

My stomach grumbled at the thought of breakfast…I dug through my pockets, not enough to even get a small coffee…Then I smacked myself on the forehead.

"I am such a doofus…"I grumbled, "I forgot about the food I already packed!" It was just a bunch of protein bars and water bottles with instant lemonade mix and dries fruit but it kept well. I continued on my way glancing around. Finally, I found a small kiosk with several maps that bore the happy word: "complementary'. I grabbed the one for Alberta and British Columbia. Now, I needed directions. Next to the maps was one of those Map Quest booths. I typed in my starting point and destination and after feeding in my meager amount of coins I had a printout of my route to New Berk. I tucked the map and directions into my jacket and started to leave the airport.

For the most part, I managed to hitchhike the first several miles. There were several others too, and from them I learned that the train would be passing through the Rockies soon. From the last rest stop before the Rockies, I got my first glimpse of the mountains.

"Whoa…." I gasped. I had always heard how big they were and seen them on Nat Geo channel, but seeing it for real was something else…I had to go through that? Lewis and Clark had a rough time getting through those, with Dragons! And here I was about to go through them partly on foot!

"What was I thinking..?" I moaned all my self confidence shattering and blowing away in the wind. I'd better get to that train before it was too late. At least it wasn't snowing yet but it was still cold at night. I hoped my mummy sleeping bag would be enough to keep me warm. Shoving my dark red bangs from my eyes I hefted my duffle bag up and pushed onward.

The next few days passed by in a haze of sunshine and mountain scenery. I must have been lucky because I didn't run into any Mutants or Zombies. I still had my retractable sword ready though, couldn't be too careful. I just hoped I wouldn't really need it. I barely knew how to use it, it didn't feel like an extension of my arm yet.

After four cold and windy days I reached some train tracks and managed to get on board one of the box cars. That train trip ended fairly soon, almost a few days later when the workers started to inspect the boxcars and I didn't want to get caught stowing away. If I was caught, I'd be back in New York with my psycho mother and get even more bruising from the old frying pan and those stupid poachers Mom fauns over. Don't they see that killing Dragons is just as bad as killing a fellow Human? Of course they didn't, no one ever sees eye to eye with me. I was always the town jinx or hiccup since jinx was usually used for girls.

"Hmmm…looks like I can make the rest of the trip on foot…"I said looking at my map. I looked at the scenery, it was breath taking. The Rockies really were the perfect place for Dragons to live. Should've brought my camera. I took a gulp of water and finished off an Oreo flavored protein bar before pushing onward. My trip also became much less comfortable.

At sunset I ran into a Skullion. I managed to escape it because I noticed it before it smelled me, I must have stunk pretty badly not having taken a shower for over two weeks and tramping through the Rockies. The next day I had to fight off what looked like a mutated mountain lion. This thing had a scorpion tail! I got some pretty bad scrapes and a nasty burn when my skin came in contact with the poison. Thankfully it was nothing fatal…Next I had to deal with Zombies, for that I ran. Only Dragon fire can destroy Zombies and I was lacking a Dragon.

"If there are any wild Night Furies out there," I said to the open air, "I could use some help here!" nothing, typical. Nothing good ever happened to me except getting back in contact with Dad and the fact I'd be meeting him soon.

I continued on my way through the dark undergrowth. It was really late, I needed to find a place to set up camp and my flashlight was starting to go dead…

"Aw man…I hope nothing comes at me right now…" I grumbled.

_SCREEEECH!_

Me and my big mouth!

I looke dup and yelled as a Raptor flew right down at me claws extended to snatch me up for dinner! I broke out into a full blast run crashing through the under growth. Several times I felt the Raptor's claws snap at my shoulders. I kept running, I did not come all this way to become Mutant food! I was getting to New BErk, I was going to see Dad again, I was going to become like a Rider like my grandfather before me, I was…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" the gorund fell out from under my feet and I fell, tumbling down a slope over and over rolling and tumbling into a valley!

"OUCH! OW OUCH OW! OUCH!" then, _CRACK!_ My head collided with something hard.

And everything went dark…

When I came to, I found myself in a large grassy valley. Surrounded on all sides were snow capped mountains. It was all so natural and beautiful I almost forgot to breathe. I never knew just how stunning the mountains could be. Growing up in a concrete jungle does that to you.

Okay…enough enjoying the scenery. I needed to get to New Berk before nightfall I didn't want to have to deal with Skullions again. I Pulled my duffle bag in front of me and opened it and dug around for my map. I had left my cell phone behind in New York. I could be tracked with that. I didn't want all my efforst to go to waste by ending up back where I started...I opened the map up, I was in British Columbia I knew that, but where? I had completely lost all sense of where I was after being knocked out from that fall.

_Maybe if I'm lucky, there might be a Rider on patrol around here or maybe some crazy camper. Tch…as if…no one in their right mind would camp out here with mutants and Zombies around they'd have to be really thick…_I held my map up trying to get some sense of where the hell I was. I shoved that map back into my duffle bag grumbling and zipping it shut heaved it onto my back and started walking. After a while, I heard a low growling, snuffling sound. It sounded like a Dragon, a Night Fury! Excited I ran forwards. Luck really was on my side! I could understand Night Furies, so I could ask him or her where New Berk was and maybe get a lift.

I rounded a large boulder and almost immediately ducked back. I leaned back agianst the boulder panting. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I peeked around the boulder. A full grown Night Fury lay in a contorted position fast asleep. What had jolted me was the tail. One tail fin was jet black and obviously organic, but the other was bright red, and had a white Viking symbol painted on it.

That was the Night Fury Hero Toothless. The Night Fury who brought WWIII to an end!

Maybe if I was quiet…he wouldn't notice me. I had heard he was very depressed-no one knew why and I preferred to give him room to breathe. I tiptoed past the sleeping Night Fury and…

_SNAP!_

_Dammit!_ I stepped on a twig!

Toothless's eyes snapped open.

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**Well well well, how. will Liam's meeting with Toothless turn out? BTW Liam's character deisng is based on Hiccup and kust to let you know, he is the spitting image of Hiccup. This is purly for providing much needed tension in the story.**

**See you soon for Chapter Four: A Ghost?**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	5. Chapter Four: A Ghost?

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Hello agian peoples! It's time for another chapter! You've been waiting with baited breath, and now you can read chaoter four!

This chapter was really difficult to write and by that I mean tricky...

Anyways...Standard Disclaimers apply and read and review or Toothless will Grrr!

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**Chapter Four: A Ghost?**

It wasn't possible. How could he be standing there? I thought I had been imagining it when I smelled him. Thought I was still dreaming. I had been there that day, that horrible day…The day my Hiccup was killed. I had seen it happen; saw the blade that extinguished his life from the world, smelled his blood, stood over his broken body as he passed into the void, seen his funeral ship burn as it glided across the sea…So…how could he possibly be standing right there in front of me looking exactly as he did the day we met?

He stood there frozen looking both horrified and slightly embarrassed.

There was a slight sense of déjà vu going on here….I didn't like it…I couldn't bear to look at him. His face kept bringing back the memory of that day. Yet…I couldn't look away…

"Ah…I…I'm…I'm sorry…" he stammered, his voice…it sounded completely different. This wasn't Hiccup. Just some look alike. But why did he smell so similar to Hiccup?

"_You…you look just like him…"_ I snorted more to myself. Why was this boy the spitting image of Hiccup? I was thinking too much here…he could just be a descendent…Maybe he was a cousin Erika and Ethan didn't know about…

The Hiccup look alike blinked looking confused, "Excuse me?" he asked, "I…I look like who?" He understood me! He was like Bill, one of the night Fury Whisperers. I flinched; I didn't want him bringing that up! I locked eyes with him and shuddered. He was indeed Hiccup's spitting image…except for the clothes. But even those looked similar. Green jacket with brown trim with brown stripes around the forearms, green shirt, beige pants, brown boots, and a slightly oversized belt. The only stark different article of clothing was the jet black ski cap.

But I still couldn't take my eyes off his face, everything about it right down to the last freckle and cowlick was identical. I shrank back terrified. The Hiccup look alike suddenly looked worried.

"Hey what's wrong?" he asked taking a step forward.

"_St-stay back!"_ I sprang back from the Hiccup look alike and tried to fly away but in my panicked state I ended up crashing headlong into the ground. Even with the bionic tailfin I still had crash landings…Some part of me still expected Hiccup to be on my back…

"_Hiccup…I'm so sorry…." _I moaned, _"I'm so sorry…I was the one who should've taken that blow…"_

"Are you alright?" The Hiccup look alike said, I opened my eyes he was crouched right next to me!

"You're not hurt are you?" he asked cautiously reaching out to me.

He wasn't getting the message to just _GO AWAY!_ With a roar I pounce don him pinning him down between my paw and his duffle bag. With a startled yelp he began struggling to push my paw off him.

"I'm sorry!" The Hiccup look alike wailed, "Whatever it is I didn't mean to piss you off!"

"_You can understand me right?"_ I growled lowering my snout to his face.

"Y-yeah." He stammered looking terrified.

"_THEN LEAVE ME ALONE!"_ I roared lifting my paw off his chest. The boy flinched as I roared right in his face. He scramble upright and backpedaled away stumbling as he ran.

"But…Who's Hi-." the boy started to say.

"_LEAVE!" _I roared bearing my fangs, _"I HATE YOU!"_

The boy turned and ran as fast as his feet would carry him. He stumbled several times and fell to the ground only to pick himself up and continue running. As he fled I could pick up a few scant emotions: panic, embarrassment, but mostly wondering who Hiccup was. I groaned as I realized he was only trying to help me…

_What was I thinking?_ I immediately felt guilt as soon as the Hiccup look alike was out of sight. My wings drooped and I hung my head, I didn't even have the energy to call after him to apologize.

Still…Seeing him had spooked me…but now…it was oddly soothing. Just being able to see Hiccup's face again-even though it belonged to someone else, the pain had ebbed slightly. Just slightly. I knew it would take much more than that for me to recover enough to accept a new Rider. Not that I ever would…

"_Bit disappointed really Toothless."_

I turned and looked up to see Drakke, a large Western Drocionias Dragon fly in for a landing in my valley. Drakke was one of the oldest Dragons in new Berk, aside from myself. He was something like the town guardian. He was also in the movie _Dragonheart_.

"_I was almost sure that you'd accept that poor boy as your Rider."_ Drakke said.

I snorted folding my wings and stalked away to the shade of a large willow tree, _"We've been through this before Drakke."_ I snorted, _"I won't accept another Rider."_ Why did he keep pressuring me to accept another? It started with Merlin, he kept pressuring me to ask Merlin to be my Rider, then that healer girl in Germany, then some WWI pilot, now he was going to pester me until I accepted that Hiccup look alike as my Rider…Here we go again…

Drakke wasn't convinced, _"Toothless, you can't keep this up. You're falling apart inside."_ How could he know how I felt? The pain…every day…It tore at my heart…

Drakke snorted slightly, _"Toothless. I understand the way you're feeling. The death of my Rider at the hands of…that man…nearly destroyed me. I went through the same thing."_ He paused, _"You have to move on Toothless. I'm sure that Hiccup wouldn't have wanted you to be so depressed…"_

I rested my head on my paws.

"_Go away."_ I mumbled, _"I just want to be alone…"_ How could he still be pressuring me to accept a Rider? I had no right. And if I did accept a new Rider…what if…what if…what if the same thing happened to him or her? I couldn't bear the thought of losing another Rider…

"_I take it gthat you won't be going to the festival then…"_ Drakke said, _"I'll be away for the rest of the month, by the time I return, I expect that you will have accepted a new Rider."_

A flap of wings and Drakke flew off west towards New Berk. I closed my eyes to rest…What I wouldn't give to just sleep forever…To just put an end to my suffering…But there was no such release for me…I was cursed to remain here on Midgard until Ragnorak…

I had even given up trying to kill myself…I had lost count of those countless attempts to be reunited with Hiccup…I only stopped at that look of sadness in Merlin's eyes when he too had lost someone dear to him, no he had been betrayed when Morgana tipped and fell to the Dark Side…It was then I decided to live for a while longer.

_Hiccup…I miss you…When will we see each other again?_

I faded into an uneasy sleep once again plagued with nightmares of that horrible day…

"…_Too..th…less…" Hiccup lay in the snow bleeding heavily from his wounds. There was so much blood…he had lost too much blood…there was nothing that could be done._

"_Hiccup…I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…I'm the one who should've taken that blow…" I knew he couldn't understand my words. How could have let this happen to him! For ten years I had always been at his side protecting him, and now…now…_

"_D-d-don't…blame…your…self…" Hiccup wheezed smiling weakly, "You…you were…al…ways…saving…me….right?" Even though he was ten years older, he had retained a boyish appearance; the only signs of adulthood that were obvious was the faint start of a goatee on his chin and the fact he had grown at least three heads taller._

_I moaned gently pressing my snout to Hiccup's bloodied forehead, it wasn't supposed to be lie this…I was supposed to protect him…And I had failed miserably…Hiccup was dying right before my eyes and all I could do was watch…Even I knew that there was nothing that could be done for him…except wait for his pain to pass and with it…Hiccup's life._

_I felt Hiccup's hand on my cheek I opened my eyes looking down at him, trying to burn his image into my memory so I'd never forget him._

"_Tooth…less…please…Astrid…Arim…Freya…everyone…" Hiccup gasped, "P-please…y-you have…you have to protect them…please…pr-prom…mise me this…"_

_I nodded, all I wanted was for Hiccup to live! Hiccup coughed and a spray of blood hit me in the face. Blood I had hoped I'd never taste…even the scent was enough to put me on edge. Hiccup parted his bloody lips to speak again and went into another fit of coughing._

"_No! Hiccup please! Don't, you're losing too much blood…hold on…please hold on…you have to live please…" I wailed shaking my head in distress._

"_Toothless…." Hiccup gasped his voice growing a little stronger, "I…I…don't…have…much…time…left…"_

_No…No…it was happening…he was giving up… he only had seconds left…_

"_Ple…please…be…strong for me…" Hiccup wheezed his eyes starting to darken, "I'm…so…glad…I…met you…good bye buddy…" Hiccup's hand started to slide down from my face. No…No!_

"_I'll…wait….for…you…in Val…hall…a…" Hiccup gave a last rattling breath and he was gone. His hand fell to the snow with a soft thump. He was gone. Gone…_

_GONE!_

I woke with a start, it was late and the stars were out. Breathing heavily I laid my head back down on my paws. It was just a dream…just a dream…I closed my eyes, but sleep would not come. I was too afraid…too afraid that the nightmares would come again…the reminders of how I failed to protect my Rider…

"_If you had any sympathy…Father Thor…" _I said in a low growl, _"You'd free me from this torment…"_

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**This chapter was a bit shorter than what I usually write but once I got to that last sentence the little voice in the back of my head said "Okay! that's enough stop!" and yes, I did cry agian while typing up that flashback scene.**

**As for Liam, I can tell you he is _not_ a clone of Hiccup.**

**And things sure got intense between Liam and Toothless, poor Dragon was totally spooked.**

**As for Drakke, he's slightly based on Draco from Dragonheart and ahs the same sense of humor. He's mainly everything I ever imgained in a Dragon when I was little. He's bascially trying to help Toothless recover from his loss and is pretty much pestering him to accept a new Rider.**

**As for who our fith narrator will be, I won;t say right now, but he won;t be appearing for a few chapters so erika will be narrating the next one.**

**See you soon for chapter Five: The Gronckle Goes Beserk**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	6. Chapter Five: The Gronckle Goes Beserk

**Hellooo agian peoples it;s Chocobo Scribe! I hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day weekened! I just watched _Merlin_ all day. When;s season 3 out!**

**Anyway...time for the lovely Erika Haroldson to resume narration!**

**Standard Disclaimers apply R&R or Toothless will GRRR!**

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**Chapter Five: The Gronkle Goes Berserk**

I hate doing night runs. Simple as that. But they have to be done, we have to have someone out there to be on the lookout incase Mutants or Zombies are headed our way. But it gets really cold at night in the Rockies! Especially at this altitude!

I pulled my poncho tighter around my shoulders as Zephyr glided on an up current of wind. So far there was nothing in sight. I adjusted my infrared goggles on my face and kept looking around. Still, nothing, not even wild Dragons out for a late night flight.

"You smell anything Zeph?" I asked. Zeph snorted and shook her head.

I pressed on the comm. That was attatched to my ear, "Striker four this is Striker three, have you seen anything over?"

Sean's voice came over the link, "Negative, nothing, looks like we'll get a decent breather from attacks tonight. Over."

"Okay, My shift's almost over, I'll see you at training tomorrow over and out." And I cut the channel. Just one more hour…and I'd be back home with a huge mug of coffee and watching old episodes of _Merlin_ on my iTunes.

I leaned forward over Zephyr's head, "We're almost done girl, let's get turned around so we'll be home before we freeze."

Suddenly Zephyr snorted, her ears flicked and she dove down to earth!

"WAAAAAUGHH!" I yelped hanging on for dear life, "ZEPH WHAT'S GOING OOOOOONNNNN!" Zephyr flapped her wings furiously going for full speed. We zoomed throught he tree branches and landed in a small clearing.

"Oh my god!" I gasped right in the middle of the clearing we landed in was a teenage boy in a green jacket and black ski cap lying face down in the grass. I jumped off Zephyr and ran over to him. I got down on my knees and got my arms around him, which was made difficult by the very full duffle bag he had strapped to his back, and turned him over.

It was like looking at the male version of myself. A shock of red hair stuck out from under his black ski cap and had a light dusting of freckles across his face. Maybe he was a cousin I didn't know about or something…Either that or Dad was a sperm donor and I was looking at mine and Ethan's half brother.

"Hey! Are you okay? Can you hear me?" I shouted. No response, he was out cold.

"Zeph, can you carry both of us?" I asked turning to my Dragon. Zephyr frowned slightly thinking, then nodded. She made a hooting sound that clearly meant: "You can count on me". I hoisted the boy to his feet getting him into a walk assist and hauled him over to Zephyr. With her help I managed to sling him over her back and using the spare harness from my backpack secured him onto the saddle before I swung up and secured myself in.

"Okay, back to New Berk!" I said, Zephyr thrust her wings down and rather wobbly we gained altitude and were soon on our way back home.

"New Berk this is Striker Two, I just found someone unconscious in the woods, I'm bringing him back to New Berk over." I said into my comm.

Chief answered, "Betta hurry up gel, We're picking up some Wind Vipers in your area over."

"I'll be careful. Over and out." I closed off the channel and focused on making sure my passenger didn't fall off. As far as I could tell, he just passed out from exhaustion. Who was this guy? And what was he doing tramping through the Rockies on foot?

"Hey, if you can hear me, I'm just looking for some I.D." I said loudly before fumbling through his pockets. After pulling out some gum wrappers, I finally pulled out a birth certificate and a newspaper article that must have been thirteen years old.

**Liam Reyolnds**

**Born: November 15, 2056 5:30 P.M.**

**Vancouver, British Columbia**

**Parents:**

**Leon Reynolds and Ingrid Wilson-Reynolds**

**Blood Type: AB**

"So you're Liam…" I muttered, "hang on…that name sounds familiar!" I looked at the newspaper article which had a photo of what I guessed to be the five year old Liam.

**Boy Kidnapped, Father asking for any information offering $5,000 reward**

_**As of This Halloween 2060 Leon Reynolds a resident of Vancouver reported that his son Liam had gone missing along with his wife Ingrid. Liam was last seen playing outside his residence with a stray Night Fury. The boy's father said that he has had the ability to understand Night Fury speech and if often found playing with Night Furies.**_

The rest of the article had been torn away. I tucked the certificate and the article back into his pocket. So this was the kidnapped boy from the news thirteen years ago. Looks like he escaped and I found him.

"Your dad's gonna be really happy to see you Liam." I said, "You just get some rest okay?"

We managed to get back to New Berk without incident. Once I landed, chief was there to greet me with three doctors and a gurney. I slid off and once I got Liam off Zephyr Chief and the doctors got Liam on the gurney and started checking his vitals and everything before rushing him over to the infirmry.

"We'll get him to the infirmary. Ye go home and get some rest." Chief said.

"I will, I'll be over soon to check on him." I said. Both Zpehyr and I turned back to the ranch and once I got her saddle off and put away, I stumbled back into the house and went to my room. I was once again greeted by the carpet sharks and soon as I had my pajamas on went right to bed.

The next day the first thing I did was run over to the infirmary to check up on Liam. The doctors had told me that they had contacted his very relieved father who would be on his way to New Berk as soon as the next airship to here docked in Vancouver. Liam was still out cold, from what the doctors said, he just passed out from sheer exhaustion like I thought. They said he'd be waking up soon and once he did, make sure he had plenty to eat.

I was almost late for training. I came skidding to a halt into the training ring where everyone else was. Arthur turned to face me and I nearly fell flat on my face!

"Just in the nick of time Erika." He said smiling, "We're starting our advanced course in survival training."

"Does this mean we're chucking someone off the roof for "Rider Retrieval"?" Greg asked looking excited. I was a little worried at who'd be the unfortunate victim.

"No." Chief said stumping into the ring, "Ye'd get torn to bits by the Dragons if you threw their Rider off a building." He stumped in front of us.

"Today, we begin our advanced course of survival trainin'." He said walking past us his bionic limbs whirring slightly, "There's a lot o' ugly out there, an' ye lot are some o' humankind's only hope fer survival."

We knew this speech by heart.

"Today, we'll be doin' Rider Retrieval." He said. Greg's eyes lit up.

"Now, we all know the worst case scenario won' always happen but it can." Chief said, "Now, who'd like to fall first?"

This lesson was proof that Greg and Jean are total adrenaline junkies and they're rubbing off on Ethan. I couldn't let my baby brother be exposed to such maniacs. I partnered up with him. Knowing him, if he partnered up with Sean or Greg or Jean, I'd be taking him back home in a body bag.

We did have back up safety equipment, but it was still terrifying to fall even though I knew Zephyr would catch me.

This part of Rider Retrieval was according to the worst case scenario. In the case the Rider is knocked off their Dragon and is unconscious.

I felt Zephyr's paws grasp me and she pulled me towards her scaly belly and held onto me tightly as she pulled out of her dive. We landed smoothly even though carrying someone in their claws makes it difficult for a Dragon to land.

"Well done!" Chief said clapping, "Ye twins are really takin' after yer dad. Okay! Arthur, Sean! Ye two are next!"

I blushed watching Arthur perform half wishing I had partnered up with him. My imagination went into over drive all of a sudden and I had to slap myself to get rid of a really disturbing image that would've come out of an overly romantic shojo manga. Okay, okay I admit I've had my fair share of fantasies but they were always rated PG.

"Wow sis…you are so weird…" Ethan said. I smashed his foot to shut him up. Whenever I get mad or if someone's trying to cover up their feelings, I can get rather sadistic. I grinned slightly as I watched Ethan hop around on one foot cradling his other one.

Greg and Jean had to also partner up with Fred and…well…Fred doesn't mix well with adrenaline junkies. I won't say what happened, but poor Fred was going to probably have nightmares for the next six weeks. Arthur winced as Fred screamed bloody murder at the top of his lungs. Lenneth let out an aggravated snarl as Fred's screaming echoed throughout the ring.

Ventus ricocheted off the walls and floor as he missed Fred and crashed headlong into the floor. After that, there was complete craziness because when Chief wasn't looking Jean had tied Fred up to Ventus and now the Gronckle was zooming around with a screaming Fred tied to his back. A near disaster ensued because nearly all of us were hit by Ventus. Thank God he didn't spit out fire…

"Remind me to partner up with him tomorrow…" He said, "At least I won't tie him up."

"I will…" I said, "Those two are absolutely bonkers…" Even our Dragons were getting edgy from Fred's screaming. Jet and Zephyr were covering their ears. Dragons have very sensitive hearing and I was sure that once we got outside Toothless or Drakke would be outside wondering what the heck was going on.

Once class was over and Fred and Ventus had recovered, his session had reduced him to a gibbering nervous wreck. Poor guy…Chief addressed us for our homework and what we'd be covering next.

"Now, we won' behaving class fer the next few days 'cause o' the Thor's Day Tursday Festival, but I expect a fully detailed essay on Rider Retrieval and be able to demonstrate next Tuesday." Chief said, "Now, go get some rest and 'ave fun at the festival! I'll be runnin' the barbque don' ye ferget!"

We all stepped out outside the training ring into the afternoon heat. It was nice to have a half day every now and then. I stretched and cricked my back slightly. We were having really nice weather! Just in time for the Thor's Day Thursday Festival too!

"Hey, I wonder if Liam's woken up yet…" I muttered to myself.

"Liam?" Ethan asked, "Who's that your boyfriend-OWW!" I punched Ethan right in the face.

"He's just some guy I found passed out in the woods." I said, "Remember that kid from the news thirteen years ago?"

Arthur had to think hard for a moment, "Oh yeah, the one who was kidnapped from Vancouver? I remember that. You found him?"

I nodded, "Doctors said they managed to contact his dad he should be here sometime during the Thor's Day Thursday Festival. As far as I know Liam's still out cold I'll be over at the Ski Shak later for coffee with Liam hopefully!"

"Okay!" Fred said waving as I ran over to the infirmary. I showed the receptionists my I.D and headed down to Liam's room. I knocked and opened the door. He was still asleep but appeared to be waking up. I sat down on the chair next to his bed to wait.

"Urrrgghhhhhh…." Liam blinked blearily (his eyes were green too only lighter than mine) and sat up. He gave his head a shake then he noticed me.

"Who-who're you!" He bleated jumping, "Where am I?"

"Calm down." I said, "My name is Erika Haroldson, you're in New Berk now. Don't worry, you're safe now."

Liam relaxed slightly and glanced around, "How…How did I git here?" He had a bit of a New York accent but it wasn't as pronounced.

"I found you passed out in the woods while I was doing a night run." I said, 'You're really lucky I found you when I did, otherwise you'd be Mutant chow."

"Th-thanks." Liam said, "Oh…uh…Name's Liam Reynolds…" he blushed slightly and looked down.

"What am I really that good looking?" I said laughing, "You look like you could be mine and Ethan's triplet. I'm pretty sure people are gonna be mistaking us for twins from now on."

"This is…New Berk right?" Liam asked facing me again.

"Yup." I said nodding, "Home of the Dragon Rider's Academy. What brings you here? The Thor's Day Thursday Festival?"

"I…came here to enroll at the Rider's Academy." Liam said.

"Oh so you're the new kid." I said then leaned towards him, "Watch out for my twin Ethan. He'll try to play some initiation prank on you."

Liam's reaction as incredible. He nearly leapt off the bed!

"Wuh wuh…what!" He bleated stumbling to his feet, "He'll what!"

"Uh…Ethan's a bit of a prankster…" I said blinking in confusion, "Are you okay Liam?"

"Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" Liam said flapping his arms.

"Are you sure?" I asked then decided to just believe him for now, "Hey are you hungry?"

"What?"

"Are you hungry?" I asked, "I'm meeting my friends at the Ski Shak for lunch, you look like you could use a decent cheeseburger."

"Sounds good," Liam said then looked down at himself in his hospital clothes, "I'll get dressed."

"I'll wait outside." I said.

Once Liam was dressed we were on our way to the Ski Shak. Liam was looking all around as we walked and twice I had to grab him by the elbow to prevent him from walking into someone.

"…And that's the Nadder Farm." I said "The Night Fury Ranch is a mile ahead, we can get there on the ski lifts, whole town used to be the Whistler Resort." I said playing the tour guide.

"Hey….after we eat…" Liam said carefully as if afraid I'd beat him up, "Can we go to the Night Fury Ranch?"

"Of course!" I said, "Maybe you'll find one who likes you. Why are you so timid? I'm not gonna hurt you."

"I-it's nothing…." Liam said. He was hiding something. Whatever it was I'd wheedle it out of him later. Right now, I'd keep his mind on a nice big juicy cheeseburger with chips.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get the biggest juiciest cheesiest cheeseburger the Ski Shak has to offer. You look like you need some filling up, or the wind will carry you off!" Liam was pretty limber, he looked like he hadn't eaten properly for weeks.

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**I really had to focus this chapter on Erika meeting Liam and a lesson in survial training. And yes, Geof does use similar teaching methods to our friend Gobber but not as life threatening...for rider retrieval, the kids were all on a bungee cord and jumped off and their Dragon had to dive down to catch them.**

**Liam will be narrating the next chapter, since Erika already introduced the heroes to _us_ it would seem repetivie if she did the intros in her POV, so we'll meet the rest of the gang in Liam;s POV and start to see how he might be feeling about erika...*hint hint***

**Anyways! see you soon for Chapter Six: A New Life**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	7. Chapter Six: A New Life

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Finally it's time for another chapter! I've been really busy with homework this past week, but thanks to time management I managed to tyoe this in a series of chunks. I just have a lot of cube and gesture studies to do over the weekend and fiddle around with Adobe Illustrator and abit of reading and stats. Well, I want to graduate and become an animator!

Gah! now my daily rambling is out, time for chapter six! Enjoy!

Standard Disclaimers Apply, Read and Review or Toothless will Grrr!

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**Chapter Six: A New Life**

I still couldn't quite believe it. I was finally in New Berk! I was still a bit shaken from my encounter with Toothless, having a Dragon roaring in your face leaves you a bit jumpy and your ears ringing for several hours.

I walked alongside Erika while she told me about the town on our way to the Ski Shak. I wasn't sure why, but I suddenly started feeling really hot around the ears and becoming extremely self conscious of my appearance….I sure hope my hair wasn't sticking up in any stupid way or I had something stuck between my teeth…And I couldn't help but notice how Erika's purple turtleneck sweater really emphasized on her figure and that it was a belly barer one…And the green crystal she wore on a chain around her neck. It must have been one of the magic crystals.

All around us people and Dragons of nearly every species ambled around with what looked like carnival games and barbeque equipment. Oh yeah the Dragon Festival was this weekend!

"You got here with really good timing," Erika said as we neared the Ski Shak. "Oh and by the way, the doctors managed to contact your dad, he'll be here around this weekend."

I gasped in relief, "Thanks…" I said, "I've been through a lot t get here…you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Erika turned to face me smiling, "Try me." She said. My whole face started to feel warm.

"Uhhhh…."

"You get some food first." Erika said, "You can tell me and the rest of us over lunch."

Rest of us?

The Ski Shak was on the first floor a ski supply shop, the second floor had snow boards and tents, and the third floor was a café. It was full of people drinking coffee, talking, eating, hunched low over laptops and iPads. The whole room was full of the buzz of conversation and the smell of coffee and food cooking, and cooking grease, an oddly pleasant combination. And I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but I couldv'e sworn I saw a girl trying to teach a Night Fury hatchling how to play guitar and pointing to a photo of Elvis Presly.

"OI! Erika over here!" a boy's voice shouted and a hand shot up from the sea of heads.

"Coming Ethan!" Erika shouted back also sticking her arm up, "Soon as we can navigate the sea of heads!" She turned to me, "Come on Liam, let's get through here."

We both squeezed our way through the crowd with several "'sceuse me"-"Ouch! That was my foot!"-"Lemme squeeze past here please"-and-"Ooomfff'" we squeezed our way thorugh the the table where Ethan had called out from.

"Hey Erika!" A dark haired and totally ripped boy said waving, "This Liam?"

"C'mon introduce us!" A blond boy said. Erika blushed once he spoke and started straightening her sweater unnecessarily. And I suddenly started feeling _really_ annoyed for some reason.

"Ah…ok." Erika said once she had regained her composure, "Guys, this is Liam Reynolds."

"Yo…"I said a little nervously.

"Liam, this is Ethan…" she pointed to another blonde boy who was wearing a blue long sleeved shirt and a ninja headband, "…Sean…" The dark haired boy, "…Greg and Jean…"Another set of twins, "…And…"here she was blushing crazily, "Arthur."

Erika then swooped on Ethan without warning, "If you play one of your stupid pranks on Liam I'll kill you! He looks like he just came through the Rockies on foot!"

"I _did_ come through the Rockies on foot." I said. Everyone turned to face me looking both surprised and impressed.

"You did _not_…" Arthur said shaking his head incredulously. Just as I expected…no one ever believed me…Was I going to get clobbered again? I braced myself for the flying fists and having something smashed over my head…

"But I'd still like to hear it." Arthur said smiling, "Maybe I'll change my mind once I got the full story."

"Yeah," Greg said leaning back in his seat, "Crossing the Rockies, that's hard core dude, even if you have a Dragon." He said this as though that would was the best thing in the world to do.

"Come on sit down." Erika said pulling out a chair for me.

"We already ordered lunch." Sean said, "Fish and chips, cheeseburgers, Chinese chicken salad, all our favorites, oh, uh, Liam what did you want?" He held out a menu for me. I took it.

"I…I can order whatever I want?" I asked nervously. I had never eaten out before…what was I supposed to do? Did I have to order something specific?

"Whatever you feel like eating." Arthur said, "But if I may, I'd recommend the fish and chips. This place has a really good recipe."

I scanned down the menu, "A…cheeseburger sounds good…"

"Alright." Erika said clapping her hands, "Oi! Nani! Can we get one more cheeseburger over here please?" she called to a tall Hawaiian girl. The girl named Nani waved and called back confirming the order.

"Come on Liam sit." Erika insisted gesturing to the seat next to her. I sat down glancing around a little nervously.

"Relax." Ethan said, "No one's gonna hurt you." I tried to relax but I never learned how. I had spent most of my life bracing myself for getting beaten up.

"I…I don't know how to relax…" I said totally embarrassed and slightly ashamed that Erika had to know this…This was a huge mess…

"Don't worry about it." Sean said, "We'll help."

I looked up surprised, "You…you will?"

"Sure." Ethan said grinning taking a sip of soda.

"What are friends for?" Jean said, "To help you out."

"Thanks guys…" I said already feeling the knot in my gut loosen. Right then they started teaching me how to relax starting with breathing. Weird…I never know how calming deep breaths could be.

"There you go!" Erika cheered clapping her hands smiling brightly. I swelled slightly at the thought of making her smile like that. Our lunch arrived a few minutes later. I'd never seen so much food before…my mother never exactly starved me but I was never allowed to eat what I wanted and as much as I wanted.

"So," Ethan said after taking a huge bite out of his cheeseburger, "Where you from?"

I was about to take a bite out of my double cheeseburger then I set it down, "It doesn't matter…" I said, "I ran away and I'm never going back."

Erika froze in place a forkful of Chinese chicken salad halfway to her mouth.

"You…ran away?" She asked, "Why?"

I really didn't want to go into details…who wants to hear about getting beating up and burned on a regular basis? But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell them where I came from…I think…

"Well…I was born in Vancouver…but I lived in Manhattan since I was five." I said starting to eat my cheeseburger. It tasted so _delicious_! I immediately took several more bites before I remembered to breath. I immediately felt loads better.

"Manhattan, New York City?" Ethan asked through a mouthful of cheeseburger.

"That's where the Empire State Building used to be and the Statue of Liberty right?" Arthur asked. Guess they never been to NYC.

"_Used_ to be?" Sean asked, "Isn't the Empire State Building still there?" Jean rolled her eyes drizzling malt vinegar over her fish and chips.

"Sean you bonehead, don't you remember? The Empire State Building collapsed three years ago!" she snapped, "It was all over the news!"

"Yeah, I saw it happen." I said, "There was some weird explosion at the top and then the whole tower just crumbled to pieces. Strangest thing was all the marble found around the area…"

"I've heard NYC's been a really rough neighborhood since WWIII." Erika said, "Gang fights, robbery, everything…No wonder you left Liam." She turned to face me starting to eat her salad again, "Believe me; I've heard a lot of crazy things about the east coast." She swallowed, "It's good you've come back to B.C." she smiled again. I hoped to god that my ears weren't turning red.

"You're one of us now." Ethan said, "We can help you get started but first…let's eat!" and gorged on his cheeseburger. I quickly followed suit.

Things were finally looking up for me. The world didn't seem so dark anymore. I told them about how I got here, they sounded pretty impressed that I managed to get here cross country by myself. I never had such a good time before.

_Still…I can't quite get that encounter with Toothless out of my head…_I thought chewing on my cheeseburger, _He looked like he saw a ghost…and who's this "Hiccup" person he mentioned?_

"Say, Erika…" Is aid after swallowing, "Does Toothless live in New Berk by any chance?"

"Mmm-hmm." Erika said through a mouthful of Chinese chicken salad-she swallowed, "He lives on my and Ethan's family's ranch. He's away right now, does that sometimes…Why'd you ask?" she added curiously.

I tensed up a little, "I…I ran into him on my way here…" I said, "I tried to get past without him noticing me, but I stepped on a twig, he woke up and…" I trailed off trying to find the right words. Should I tell them I could understand Night Fury speech? That was one of the reasons I kept getting beaten up by bullies in New York.

"…And…" Arthur said, "What happened?"

"He looked like he saw a ghost." I said, "And…this might sound strange…but…he said I looked like someone he knew…" I kneaded my forehead with my fingertips, "What was that name again…oh! Hiccup, he said I looked like someone named Hiccup. Poor guy was terrified…you'd think he just saw a dead person come back to life."

"You can understand Night Furies?" Ethan asked. I tensed up again, oh no…I had just gotten myself cornered!

"Our grandpa's the same way!" Ethan said, "We've got a few Dragon Whisperers here too. Though Gramps is the only Night Fury Whisperer here besides you."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief…

"What's wrong?" Greg asked, "It's not like we're gonna beat you up or something."

Erika was frowning, thinking so hard I could almost see the gears working.

"Uh…Erika?" I asked leaning forwards slightly.

"I knew it…" Erika said, "I knew it…" she turned to face me, "Liam, what exactly did Toothless say to you? Tell me everything!"

"Wh-what?" I bleated almost falling out of my chair, "Wh-why'd you want to know?"

"She's been trying to figure out why Toothless is so depressed all the time." Sean said, "She's tried almost everything. Been a bit of an obsession lately…" Erika shot him the evil eyes.

"Toothless practically took care of Ethan and I and our dad and uncle ever since he came to New Berk." Erika said, "I can't stand to see him so depressed…If I no…we could just find out why…maybe we could help him."

_Toothless was so scared…whatever happened to this Hiccup person…It must haunt him…_I thought clenching my fists,_ He may have roared in my face and said he hated me…but…He was just freaked out…_I found that…I wanted to help Toothless too.

"Okay," I said sitting up right, "I'll tell you everything."

And I told them.

"I KNEW IT!" Erika shouted, "Toothless' Rider _was_ killed! It's the only explanation!"

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"First, you get some rest, then you're joining us for training, and then, we're gonna help Toothless." Erika said, "But first, you need a Dragon. I'm guessing you're planning on riding a Night Fury?"

"Yeah, sure." I said, "I used to play with strays when I was living in Vancouver." I stood up as everyone else did.

"Well, until your dad gets here, you can stay with us." Ethan said, "I'm sure Mum and Grandpa won't mind. We've always got plenty of Night Fury hatchlings running around."

Stay, with them? In the same house with Erika? My face and ears started growing really hot…I began feeling light headed…

"Hey, Liam are you okay?" Erika asked looking worried, "Your whole face is beet red."

Oh crap…

We took the ski lifts up to the Haroldson Night Fury Ranch. The Ranch was a large orange building with a brown roof. A large yard behind the house was filled with Night Furies, big and small. Several people in orange aprons were all around, either running back and forth with large coolers or guiding visitors around or seeing off families with a delighted small child hugging the newly adopted Night Fury hatchling.

I could pick up on what all the Night Furies were saying, mostly wondering when lunch was, who the new person was, calling out for their mother, stuff like that.

"There's so many…" I said leaning forward slightly.

"We've got about sixty right now." Erika said, "We'll reach triple digits this winter when Dragon mating season starts."

We reached the ranch. I met Erika's and Ethan's mom and Grandpa, they were really nice, I was practically family. I also met some of the staff, some of them like David, a surfer guy from Hawaii were refugees rescued by Commander Edmund Haroldson, Erika's and Ethan's dad. Even I had heard about him, he had superhero ranking. I had also heard about how he went missing in action in Russia a few years ago. I sure hoped for Erika's sake that he was still alive out there…

"This'll be your room." Erika said as I dropped my duffle bag-which the Sarge, Geof had gotten to me earlier-onto the bed.

"If you need anything," Erika said, "Just holler. You get some sleep now okay?" She was about to go out the door.

"Erika." I said, she stopped and looked over her shoulder, "Thanks, um…for everything." she smiled again. I made her smile three times in one day!

"Your welcome." She said, "Ah!" she looked down as a tiny Night Fury hatchling squirmed past her ankles and dashed into the room, "Ah, Blue!"

"_Hey you're new!"_ Blue squealed jumping right into my arms. He sniffed at my face and started licking me! It tickled! I laughed and tickled Blue on his belly. Before I remembered that even Night Fury hatchlings can breathe fire…the smell of burnt hair would linger in my room for several days to come…

I took Erika's advice and slept.

_Yeah…things are finally turning 'round…_I thought stroking Blue's small black head as he snoozed next to me on my mattress before I too dropped off to sleep. The first good sleep I had in a long time…

"Hey Liam!" Erika's voice probed into my murky subconscious, "Liam! Wake up!"

"No…donwannageup…ten more minutes…" I said into my pillow.

"Your dad's on the phone." Erika said holding the phone next to my head.

I was wide awake instantly and grabbed the phone from her.

"Dad! Dad it's me Liam!" I said into the mouthpiece.

"Liam? You made it to New Berk?" Dad's voice came out of the earpiece.

"Yeah…I made it." I said.

"Oh thank god…" Dad said, "I was getting worried…"

"When will you get here?" I asked. This was only the second time I had spoken to Dad since before running away from New York and I barely remembered how he looked.

"This weekend," Dad said, "The next airship for New Berk will dock in Vancouver on Friday. I'll be able to get there in time for the Dragon Festival. Can you wait til then Liam?"

"I can, I can." I said, "I waited almost thirteen years, a few more days? That's nothing. I'll see you soon. Love you Dad."

"Love you too Liam." Dad said, "Bye."

I hit the end call button and handed the phone back to Erika. Her hand touched mine for an instant as I handed it back to her and on impulse I held on.

"Uh Liam?" Erika asked flushing slightly "You can let go now."

"Whuh?" I gasped and let go of her hand. What was I thinking? Erika scratched the back of her head looking a little thoughtful.

"If you're feeling up to it, dinner's almost ready or I could bring something up for you." Erika said. I was relieved she changed the topic.

"No, I'll come down." I said picking up Blue from my pillow and gently cradling the tiny Dragon in my arms.

"He seems to like you," Erika said, "He's one of the 'Carpet Sharks'. They're four of the Hatchlings we're keeping on the ranch, once their old enough we'll find suitable mates for them so they can have kids."

I followed Erika to the dining room and the smell of steaks wafted over.

"Rib eye steaks, Mum's specialty." Erika said, "Even some of our Dragons go nuts over it." I chuckled slightly I remembered feeding bits of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to stray Night Furies back in Vancouver and occasionally the peanut butter glued their teeth together.

I didn't remember much of dinner. I was half asleep during most of the meal. I vaguely remembered a few Night Fury hatchlings nuzzling at my shins for hand outs. All I was sure of was that the next thing I knew, I was lying in bed starting to fall asleep.

Today had been the first really good day I ever had. I finally found friends. Greg and Jean were sure a pair of adrenaline junkies, I'd seen their type in Manhattan, Sean was pretty cool, though I had the sneaking suspicion his biceps had taken over his brain…Ethan seemed like a nice guy-I just hoped he wouldn't play any practical jokes on me…I wasn't sure what I thought about Arthur, except that un explainable feeling of annoyance-especially at how Erika kept blushing around him…

But I knew what I thought of Erika. There was only one thing that could possibly describe her.

She was an Angel…

With that thought, I dropped off to sleep.

My last conscious thought, was of Toothless alone in his valley…

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**Ooooooohhh...love is in the air...and it looks like a bit of a love triangle might develop, more fun for the readers!**

**Just what will Liam do to get Erika to nottice and what could he be thinking about Toothless? Questions questions questions...**

**Coming up next: Chapter Seven: I Play a Prank**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	8. Chapter Seven: I Play a Prank

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Whew! It's finall cooling down a bit! And here's the seventh chapter! I'm too tired and excited about getting the Kingdom HEarts Birth By Sleep Bundle at Gamestop hopefully this weekend to ramble so, go and readt the chapter.

Standard Disclaimers apply Read and Review or Toothless will Grrr!

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**Chapter Seven: I Play a Prank**

Liam slept in pretty late the next day. He must have been exhausted. Crossing the Rockies on foot? That's gotta be really strenuous-bordering on insanity, even before Mutants and Zombies started running around. So, I decided to heed Erika's warning and _not_ play an initiation prank on Liam. Anyway…I had the feeling he might have had worse than the odd prank…must have had some mean ones played on him.

At least mine are good natured.

Okay…maybe the pit traps are a little mean, but at least I give my "victims" a soft landing!

"G'morning Ethan." Erika said as I entered the kitchen, it was her turn to cook today. She was making her specialty, Monte Crisco and Chai lattes. Her other specialty is curry-which she's always experimenting with using peanut butter, coconut milk, and chili peppers and I'm the unfortunate guinea pig for her culinary concoctions. I still remember the time I nearly ended up with an ulcer after eating her "Green Peanut Curry Surprise". It bordered on toxic waste-and she agreed.

"Mornin' Erika…" I said yawning as I sat down and she put a plate of Monte Crisco in front of me. It was just her and me in the kitchen, Mom and Grandpa had already stated work on the Ranch.

"Eat up," She said, "Chief's putting us through the obstacle course today. And he might be throwing in some Mutants into the mix of booby traps." She sat down across from me and started eating her own sandwich.

The obstacle course is something like a pop quiz for us. It's designed to test how well we can fly in sync with our Dragons. The first time we ever flew through it, there was a bit of a pile up halfway through. I sure didn't envy the people and Dragons smushed in between the Gronckle and Nightmare….I was somewhere near the back, but also smushed between Erika and Zephyr and Arthur and Lenneth.

"Sure hope Mr. Reynolds gets here okay." I said.

Erika nodded, "Yeah me too." She took a sip from her Chai latte, "For Liam's sake…poor guy's been through enough…but why was he so tense? It was like he expected us to suddenly start beating him up."

"He's lived in Manhattan; you can't go a day without getting clobbered. You know how that place is described: A bigger, crazier, dirtier version of San Francisco." I said, "You have to be really tough to live there, that guy's gotta have nerves of steel."

Erika looked unconvinced, "Still…I think there might be something else…" she trailed off taking another bite of Monte Crisco.

"Just don't get sadistic ok?" I said, "I think he's had beyond enough of that." I gulped down the dregs of my Chai latte and finished my Monte Crisco in one chomp.

"Thanks for breakfast!" I said getting up to clean up while Erika cleared the table and put the dishes into the automatic dishwasher.

As I got out of the bathroom Liam came out of his room rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Morning Liam." I said, "If you want breakfast, there's still some food in the kitchen. You just get some rest today alright?"

"Hrrrmmm…yeah…sure….thanks…"Liam said, he looked like he was half asleep, and stumbled downstairs to the kitchen. I was pretty sure he had fallen head over heels in love with Erika-I was actually a little worried…Erika's already sweet on Arthur though it's very one sided since she clams up whenever he's around. I was sure once Liam tasted Erika's cooking, and especially after her chicken adobo (Filipino food is another specialty of hers) he would be madly in love with her.

I followed Liam downstairs and walked through the kitchen to find him munching on some Monte Crisco and washing it down with a Chai latte.

"This is _delicious_!" He said taking another huge bite, "Who made this?"

"Erika." I said, "It's her turn to cook today. Monte Crisco is one of her specialties. Wait till dinner, her chicken adobo is killer." As soon as the words were out of my mouth Liam's whole face went redder than a tomato. Yup, he was smitten alright.

"I'll be at training with Erika." I said starting to leave picking up my flight harness along the away, "You just relax okay? We've got some game systems that belonged to our dad, and some games you might like, you look like a _Kingdom Hearts_ fan. You can finally get even with those Disney baddies."

Liam sprinted over to me looking a little breathless, "No, I'd like to go with you to training." His face was so set I found I forgot how to say "no".

"Aren't you still worn out from your trip here?" I asked/

"I'll watch." Liam said, "I already know I'm in no condition for training." He chuckled a bit as he said this, "Do I really have that "idiot hero" look?"

"O-of course not!" I blurted out, "Follow me." We both left the house, after getting the saddle, I gestured to Jet to follow and we were on our way.

We both made our way to the training ring where everyone else was gathered watching the other cadets fly through the obstacle course or crash which received several sympathy groans and gales of laughter. Seriously…some people watch way too much slap stick comedy.

We arrived just in time to see Arthur saddle up on Lenneth. Erika who got here before Liam and I, was going gaga as usual. I glanced over at Liam who was actually looking a little annoyed at this.

I smell a love triangle coming in the near future…

Arthur and Lenneth took off at top speed. With near unrivaled performance they soared through the course with almost perfect precision. A swoop here, they nearly got caught in the tornado tube-which shifts around according to Chief's controls and his mood which made Erika gasp in horror, then sailed through the rest of the course and with loud cheering and a fangirlish squeal from Erika (Liam's face turned slightly purple) they zoomed through the finish line.

"Awricht…up next…Haroldson, Erika!" Chief called out, "Ye and Zephyr arh getting a tough un today."

"Ok Chief!" Erika said, then she got her scheming look, "I'll out fly Arthur!" she may have a mad crush on Arthur, but they also happen to be friendly rivals in training. She dashed over to Zephyr and swung herself up into the saddle and secured herself in using the electromagnets.

We used to use hooks and rings but the falling hazard was too high so then came electro magnets and the falling rate dropped quite a bit.

Yeah, falling's a bit of an occupational hazard to Dragon Riders.

Erika and Zephyr had a bit of a smoother run than Arthur and Lenneth. What can I say? Night Furies are just built for that kind of flying, they're like Ninjas. Liam was leaning forward on the rail watching and I heard him muttering stuff like 'Be careful;"-"Watch out!"-and "C'mon…"

I had to struggle not to laugh. I was actually hoping that maybe Erika and Liam would become boyfriend and girlfriend for Liam's sake. Liam would be a good boyfriend for her-just her baby brother's intuition talking here…

"She and Zephyr are really good aren't they?' I said joining Liam at the railing.

Liam turned to face me looking at me like I just went insane.

"Not "good"." He said, "She's…amazing…"

The rest of the course runs proceeded, I ended up with an apple sized lump on my head after my run. The whole world blurred and colors mixed in front of me crazily.

"L-look all the pretty colors…" I said dreamily as Erika and Liam had to haul me back to the Ranch.

Later that day during dinner and out of Erika's earshot (she has _really_ good hearing) I started making plans for a new prank.

"We still have to initiate you." I said to Liam, "But since Erika will kill me if I play it on _you_, instead you're going to help me play one on Sean."

Liam looked up from his third helping of chicken adobo, "You…you want me to play a prank on someone? Won't that be mean?"

"Hey, I only play good natured pranks." I said holding my hands up in defense, "Mostly pit traps and tomato flinging devices…and with Toothless away he can't rat us out."

"Toothless ratted you out before?'Liam asked sounding slightly amused.

"He follows Erika and I around like a second shadow." I said, "He almost never lets us out of his sight. That's what makes Erika and I think that his Rider must have been killed…He won't bond with another Human but he'll fight to the death to protect someone. He probably doesn't want the same thing happening to someone else…"

Liam looked rather wistful at this. His eyes had gone slightly clouded, he looked like he was deep in thought.

"Hey you okay Liam?" I asked. Liam started and jerked up slightly.

"Y-yeah…I'm fine it's just…"he pauses, "Fuhghedaboudit…what kind of prank did you have in mind?"

I grinned, "I'm thinkin…something tomato related…." And with that we began our plans for our tomato prank on Sean. This was going to be really good…I knew it…

On Friday our prank was complete. Liam had suggested a pit trap filled with tomatoes. Why hadn't I thought of that before? We were about to cart our tomatoes outside when the phone rang. I picked up the receiver.

"Hello? Harlodson Night Fury Ranch; Ethan Haroldson speaking."

"Hello, this is Leon Reynolds, Liam's dad." Mr. Reynolds said, "Is Liam there?"

"Yeah, he's here." I said, "Liam! Telephone! It's your dad!" I handed the receiver to Liam who took it looking both worried and a little excited.

"Dad, it's Liam." He said, "Really? You got on board? When will you get here? Today? At four pm? Okay,-yeah…I'll borrow a Dragon to get to the docking station…Dock 30? Flight 23456? Okay got it…Oh me? Just getting ready for the Dragon Festival, there's been a bit of a Viking invasion…Okay…see you soon…love you Dad, bye." He hung up looking really happy.

"What did your dad say?" I asked.

"He'll be here at four. Is there a Night Fury I can borrow to get to the docking station?" Liam asked a little breathlessly.

"Sure," I said, "I think Coal might be willing to give you a ride. Just be careful, he goes mad with joy at the mere sight of a Human and will tackle you."

"Okay. Thanks." Liam said, "Do we still have time for our prank?" he looked at the clock.

I did too, it was almost one and it was a two hour flight by Dragon to the docking port, "Just enough." I said. Soon as we witness the aftermath, you go on ahead back here, Erika will help you out though she might insist that you just rode on Zephyr with her." Liam turned around, but I was willing to bet he was blushing.

We managed to get our tomatoes into the pit trap and get it covered in time. We hid behind a tree just as Sean game walking down the road partially dancing to whatever music he was listening to on his iPod. Knowing him, it must have been the Sailor Song.

Both Liam and I waited with bated breath and…one more step…

_CRASH!_ And then…_SPLAAAT!_

"ETHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Sean screamed from the pit as Liam made his escape and I pulled out my camcorder, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" I was laughing so hard at the sight of Sean covered from head to toe in tomato I fell over laughing. I managed to get my footing back before Sean got out to strangle me and followed Liam to the Ranch.

Just as I expected, Erika had insisted that Liam ride with her. Liam actually looked rather happy about that.

"I'm not being mean or anything Liam. But it's dangerous to ride a Dragon without basic training, especially since there's a lot of turbulence today." She said watching Liam getting a flight harness on.

"It's okay." Liam said, "Last thing I want is to fall to my death."

"Hey mind if I tag along too?" I asked walking over with Jet who was still saddled.

"Come along." Erika said helping Liam onto Zephyr. She swung up in front of him and secured both him and herself in. I quickly jumped up onto Jet and also secured myself in. Both Dragons leapt up into the air and soon we were gaining altitude and soaring westward to the docking station.

Erika was right, the turbulence _was_ pretty nasty. It took all of mine and Erika's training experience to stay on our Dragons. Twice Erika had to use her Areo Crystal to make a cushion for us so we wouldn't get blown off and plunge to our deaths.

Soon, the docking station came into view. The station was full of people coming and going. Refugees, tourists for the Thor's Day Thursday Festival, people moving here, the whole shebang. We landed in the nearby field and dismounted and ran over to the airship docks for the gate awaiting the Vancouver airship.

Most of the airships look like dirigibles with finger like wings that flap or the usual airplane like wings. Planes had gone out of business thirty years ago and were replaced with airships once blimps and dirigibles became more commercial flight able.

"Okay, the airship from Vancouver should be arriving in half an hour." Erika said, 'Let's get some fro yo while we wait." We made a beeline for the Yogurt Hut. That place has over fifty flavors of yogurt. My favorite flavor is lemon, Erika likes lillikoi, and Liam had to spin the wheel to decide-he never had frozen yogurt ever. What kind of life did he lead in Manhattan? He ended up getting good old chocolate.

We arrived back at the gate eating our frozen yogurt.

"So...when we get back to New Berk." I said through a mouthful of yogurt, "We'll get you some festival clothes Liam."

"Festival clothes?" Liam asked curiously.

"Uh-huh, we all dress up like Vikings, that's half the fun." Erika said, 'Then we have the dragon races and the Dragon Tournament…all sorts of stuff, it's like those old Renaissance Fairs."

"Sounds like fun." Liam said, "How long does the festival last?"

"The whole weekend." I said swallowing my yogurt. I checked my watch, ten minutes to four, we should be able to see the airship by now but…why wasn't it here yet? A really bad feeling started welling up in my gut churning my yogurt.

_Oh God no…Please don't let it be what I think it is…_ I thought desperately seeing the worried look on Liam's face.

"Why isn't the airship here?' Liam said, "It should be here by now right?" Worried muttering spread throughout the crowd waiting for family and friends on the airship.

And suddenly…as if confirming what I was fearing a news flash came up on the TV mounted behind the receptionist desk. It showed an airship that had crash landed in flames.

"_The New Berk bound airship 23456 from Vancouver was attacked by Mutants just twenty minutes ago."_The anchorwoman said, _"The entire airship burst into flames and crash landed in the mountains twenty miles from New Berk. Initial search reports say that…there were no survivors."_

"Oh no…" Erika gasped.

_Plop._

We both turned to face Liam. He had dropped his yogurt. His whole face drained of color, eyes wide open, and tears forming in his eyes.

"Dad…no…it…you were supposed to come…" he said. Then he let out an anguished cry and collapsed to his knees…

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**Poor Liam...He finally gets the chance to see his dad agian and it's taken away from him...*sniffle* He can;t catch a break can he?**

**Well...for those of you wondering about what will happen between Toothless and Liam, you wait is almost over.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter**

**Chapter Eight: Healing Friendship...yeah, kinda obvious where I;m taking this, don;t worry, I'll have plenty of curveballs up my sleeve.**

**Might take a while to get up becasue of homework and I might get really caught up in Birth By Sleep...so if I don;t post soon, I;m somewhere off in the Disneyverse fightinh the Unversed.**

**Chocobo Scribe signing off!**


	9. Chapter Eight: Healing Friendship

**And its time for another chapter! I knew I couldn't keep you waiting too long for this one. I'll save my random-ass ramblings for the end of the chapter. so now...please enjoy!**

**Standard disclaimers apply Read and Review or Toothless will GRRRR!**

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**Chapter Eight: Healing Friendship**

_Until the day I die,_

_I'll spill my heart for you,_

_For you,_

_Until the day I die,_

_I'll spill my heart for you._

_**Until the Day I Die Story of the Year**_

The foul stench of death and burning flesh filled the air. The airship had been completely destroyed. Several people and Dragons were shifting through the rubble looking for survivors. I turned over a large piece of steel. Another burned corpse, a little boy by the looks of it. One of the searchers ran over and stooped down to examine the body, then spread a wilderness emergency blanket over the charred remains.

"Damn Mutants…" The searcher grumbled, "It's like this almost every day…Now Humans know what an endangered species feels like…" He turned to face me, "We'd better get back to looking for survivors Toothless." Then dashed off at a call from his superiors.

I continued my way through the rubble, I started at sudden movement. A piece of steel and canvas shuddered and there was a faint clanging sound and I barely picked up a weak cry of "Help…".

I seized the steel in my jaws and pulled it back and roared for the searchers to come over. A teenaged girl, about college aged was trapped under several beams and seats. It was long and nerve wracking but we managed to extricate our first survivor.

The rest of day dragged on and no other survivors were found, well, one more but he died moments after I found him. A red haired man, he smelled a little like the Hiccup Look Alike. He had been crushed under several fallen beams and seats-by the time the medics got to him, it was too late.

I flew back to my valley unable to take it anymore. People were dying or being turned into an Undead every day. Humanity was teetering on the brink of extinction. I knew I should be getting back to New Berk, Aria, Zephyr, Coal, and Jet would be wondering what I was up to. But…I still needed one more day here. This valley reminded me of the cove where I spent those happy days with Hiccup. The only difference was that I could come and go as I pleased and there was no Hiccup to visit. No more flights together…I would have gladly traded the bionic tailfin to fly the way Hiccup and I did for just one day.

I curled up in a comfortable spot on the grass and fell asleep.

The next day, I could pick up faint traces of the Thor's Day Thursday Festival coming from New Berk. It wasn't as lively as usual they must have been paying their respects for those who died in the airship crash. It lasted for over an hour and then some of the usual liveliness began though it was still subdued somewhat.

I padded over to the lake for some water. I lifted my snout from the cool surface when a familiar scent came.

It was the Hiccup Look Alike. What was he doing here? Half an hour later he arrived in the valley, and my eyes widened in shock. For an instant (or split second as the present generation would say) I thought I was looking at Hiccup!

The Hiccup Look alike was wearing Thor's Day Thursday Festival clothes, and…and…they looked exactly like the clothes Hiccup had worn! Except the vest and boot lining were faux fur not bearskin. The image was slightly put off by the _Kingdom Hearts_ backpack.

"_What are you doing here?"_ I asked. The Hiccup Look Alike flinched and I saw that he had been crying.

"I…I just needed to get away from the festival for a while…" He said, "I…I just found out my dad died yesterday…" his voice sounded hollow, broken. He turned and walked over to a large tree stump fifty feet away and dropped his backpack onto the grass and sat down heavily on the stump.

I was getting a slight sense of déjà vu again…I thought that I would be terrified like the way I was when I first saw him and even more so now seeing him in the Viking style clothes. It made his resemblance to Hiccup even more striking. But, it was oddly soothing, it was that "good to see a familiar face" feeling, or…maybe feeling like I had a second chance…

_No…No…_I thought snorting and shaking my head lying down facing away from the Hiccup Look Alike, _I can't bond with him, if I do, he could meet the same fate as Hiccup…_I moaned as I again recalled that day…that horrible…bloodstained day…

I would just pretend to sleep until the Hiccup Look Alike went back to New Berk. His presence may have been more soothing now, but I still couldn't bear to be reminded of what I lost…I dozed for a while, fitfully, I still had nightmares. When I woke, the Hiccup Look Alike was only a few feet away from me.

He started and scrambled away backwards in a crabwalk and then getting back to his feet walked away stiffly humming innocently. He was actually going a worse job at it than Hiccup did. I almost chuckled slightly.

The day slowly progressed, and the Hiccup Look Alike would not leave. Even when evening set in. He stayed where he was. He kept his distance, I knew what he was waiting for.

He was waiting for me to come to him.

I wasn't going to comply right? There would be no bonding for him.

But…the grief I felt coming from him was so strong and added to the fact he was Hiccup's spitting image…I found myself being drawn to him…wanting to comfort him. I watched the boy from where I lay on the grass. He alternated between drawing in the dirt and fiddling with one of those handheld game devices Humans his age were so fond of. He must have barrowed it from Erika…I could pick up traces of her scent off it.

And now that I had some comparison, I found that the Hiccup Look Alike based on scent, had no relation to the Haroldson's or, in a stretch to Hiccup. So, why did he look precisely like Hiccup and why did he also smell like him? Of all the guesses I had, "reincarnation" was going to be my last ditch explanation. And I wasn't even going to go into my _really_ last ditch explanation. He had a different feeling about him. If this was a coincidence, it sure was a big one.

I continued to watch him, now he was dozing peacefully on the grass.

I couldn't keep this up anymore…I stalked over to his side. I lowered my head to his sniffing him gently. He did smell almost exactly like Hiccup but there still was something different, smog, something else I couldn't describe with words….and…what? I snorted as I picked up the scent of old burn injuries. Being as gentle as I could I pulled at his sleeve and on his palm was another burn scar. This one was spiraled as if his hand had been put on a gas stove burner. I whined softly. He had been abused…brutally…who could've done this to him? And again I felt guilty for roaring at him.

"Hrrrmmm?" The Hiccup Look Alike stirred slightly and blinked blearily, "How long wuziasleep?" He glanced up at me and his eyes widened no wide awake at seeing how close I was to him.

"Toothless…" he gasped sitting up, "Where…where you…where you watching me the whole time?"

"_Yes."_ I said I paused…_ "I'm…I'm sorry I frightened you the other day…It's just…"_

"No, no it's okay." The boy said, "You were just scared that's all. There's nothing to apologize for." He paused then said, "My name's Liam Reynolds." Then looked down slightly embarrassed.

_Reynolds…_That name sounded familiar…Oh, that was name of the red haired man from the rubble of the airship. I felt my gut clench as I realized that man was Liam's sire.

"_What are you doing here?"_ I asked. Liam stiffened.

"I…I had to get away from the festival…" he said in a choked voice, "My…my dad was supposed to be here but…the airship he was on was attacked by mutants…no one…no one survived…" he pressed a hand to his mouth and tears started to form in his eyes.

I couldn't bear to see him like this...Crooning softly I gently pressed my snout to his forehead trying to comfort him. It felt like an oddly reversed version of the day I bonded with Hiccup.

"_If you need to cry, cry. I'll stay with you until you're finished…"_

Liam burst into tears sobbing convulsively slumped against my side. I covered him with my wings to shelter him from the cold air as night started to close in. A few hours later, Liam had cried himself to sleep. He was now curled up against my belly. He had calmed down now, though he was still shivering slightly. I gently nuzzled Liam's head.

I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. After eleven hundred years of never allowing a Human to get close to me, I had of my own volition, approached Liam. I wouldn't make him my Rider I knew that…I couldn't risk anything happening to him…

But…maybe…just maybe…we could be friends. Some of the pain from losing my Hiccup was starting to ebb away. Somehow, Liam had found the balm to my pain. I watched over him the whole time he slept. I carefully lifted my left foreleg and draped it over Liam protectively.

I wasn't going to let what happened to Hiccup happen to Liam.

I let Liam sleep for a while longer. When is started getting late, I nudged him awake. We had to get back to New Berk. Around this time, Mutants and especially Zombies would start coming out. Liam cried out when he woke still half in a dream-of what I guessed from his mumblings monkeys and vanilla pudding.

"Oh, Toothless…" He said running his fingers through the rat's nest of his hair, "Must have fallen asleep…"

"_I'll take you back to New Berk."_ I said, _"This place won't be safe for long."_

Liam quickly stood up, "But I thought you weren't going to the festival either."

"_I changed my mind."_ I said.

Liam smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll get my backpack." He ran back over to the stump and after rummaging through the backpack slung it over his shoulder. He jogged back holding a roll of duct tape in his hand.

"_What the duct tape for?"_ I asked.

"I need something to hold on to." Liam said pulling long strips out and laying them side to side and weaving until he had made a large loop. He slung it around my forelegs and shoulders after he clambered onto my back rather clumsily. He felt so light, almost insubstantial.

"_Ready?"_ I asked looking at Liam from the corner of my eyes. He gulped and nodded and I felt his legs tense around my shoulders, _"Hold on." _I crouched low to the ground and took off!

"UUUUWWWWAAAAAARRGGGHHHHH!" Liam screamed and the next thing I knew both his arms were tightly squeezing me around the neck. I wobbled in mid air and plummeted several feet.

"_I CAN'T BREATHE!"_ I roared and immediately Liam's grasp loosened slightly though he still had his arms around my neck. The forest covered mountains slid past under us as I flew over the mountains towards New Berk. Within minutes, the town came into view. Lanterns gave off a soft glow and Gaelic sounding music floated up from the town along with the faint shouts and cheers coming from mock fights. I found a clear space to land and glided down to the grass and landed with a heavy thud. I quickly lay down as Liam started to fall off. He slid down my side and rolled onto the grass looking a bit breathless.

"Toothless!" Erika came running over in her festival clothes. A blue tunic, black leggings, beige arm wraps and lace up boots. The outfit was completed with a pair of fake shoulder guards. She stopped in front of us.

"Liam?" She said, "Where were you? I've been looking all over for you! I thought you got eaten by a Mutant or something!"

Liam stood up completely surprised.

"You…you were worried about me?" he asked.

Erika walked over to him and punched him on the arm.

"OW!" Liam shouted clutching his elbow, "What was that for!" he bleated slightly indignantly.

"_That_ was for running out on us." Erika snapped looking irritated then she hugged him tightly then released him a few seconds later, "And _that_ was for…everything else." She glanced over at me then back to Liam. He seemed to understand.

I may not be accepting Liam as my Rider anytime soon, but maybe it's time I finally tell someone…After all, Erika and Ethan had been the most stubborn about trying to help me.

* * *

**Yeah, I had to get a "everything else" scene in for Liam and Erika.**

**As for my random rambling I manmged ot fond some character themes for our heroes:**

**Erika: Tifa's Theme**

**Ethan: Sora's Theme**

**Liam: Who am I? (Xion's Theme)**

**Toothless: Until the Day I Die**

**Youshould already know what I picked for the fifth narrator if you've read my previous fanfics.**

**Chocobo Scribe Signing off! See you soon for the next installemnt: Chapter Nine: Something Insane if I don;t get uttery caught up in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep!**


	10. Chapter Nine: Something Insane

**Hello peoples! It's Chocobo Scrine agian! while I'm taking a little break from my homework I'll post this chappie! What will happen? What is the Something Insane? What is the Thor's DayThursday festival like? **

**Enough!**

**Starndard Disclaimers apply, R&R or Toothless will GRRRR!**

* * *

L

**I**

**A**

**M**

**Chapter Nine: Something Insane**

I really couldn't describe the rest of the festival. It all went by in a kind of blur of barbeque and several Terrors begging for handouts. I swear those little guys are like a cross between Yorkshire Terriers and piranhas. I remember Toothless was always nearby like a second shadow. I tried to tell him the worst that could happen was me eating something too spicy-but Erika said I was just wasting my breath.

"Once Toothless decides to protect someone, there's no stopping him." She had said gorging on a turkey wing, "Even though it can be as annoying as hell with him breathing down your neck…"

Toothless snorted, _"HEY!"_

"I think you ticked him off." I said trying not to laugh. Toothless was getting into a bit of a holiday mood, which made Erika _very_ happy. At one point I even saw him playing with some of the little kids enthusiastically, he even let them clamber all over him all dignity gone to the wind. Well, Night Furies were famous for their playful nature.

But he said he would tell us why he had been so depressed for so long. However he was going to wait until after the Thor's Day Thursday Festival, he didn't want to go ruining the mood of one of the few good times anyone could enjoy. I agreed wholeheartedly.

I've never played any carnival games before, but I found out pretty quick I was pretty good at the shooting range-though I had no idea what I was going to do with the giant Night Fury plushie I won. I tried the dunking booth-and nearly killed the Sergeant, Geof.

The Dragon Race was really amazing, definitely something to write home about. Arthur won. And I still can figure this out but I keep feeling really annoyed around him-especially when Erika starts praising him and gets all giggly over him-and Arthur's starting to like her back…He even asked her out to see a movie…

If she has a crush on Arthur why did she hug me earlier? When she had hugged me…I thought I was going to pass out…

Maybe if I did something cooler than Arthur…She's notice me…

Maybe making breakfast would be a good start.

I woke up extra early on the day after the Thor's Day Thursday Festival and started flipping through the cook book for any good recipes. Finally I found something that sounded good, Feta Fritata. As I was getting some eegs out of the fridge Ethan came down stairs looking a little sleepy.

"It's _my_ turn to cook." He said, 'Besides, shouldn't you still be resting?" He stood at the counter with me as I was beating the eegs.

"I'm fine." I said, "Besides, this is for Erika."

"Um…"Ethan said, "You might want to use cheddar, bacon, and green onions. Erika hates feta cheese."

"Oh…" my face fell I liked feta cheese; but it was a good thing I didn't put the feta cheese in…I really didn't want to give Erika something she'd hate. After ten minutes of arguing Ethan and I agreed on making breakfast together. But he said not to let him catch me in the kitchen cooking the rest of the day.

"I'm making my special recipe for fish and chips tonight!" He said.

I took the hint and after breakfast went out into the pastures to hang out with the little Night Furies, as soon as they saw me the squealed with delight and came scampering over to me. Most of them were too young to fly. Toothless watched me from his section with a very pretty female Night Fury, Aria his mate along with a few tiny three month old hatchlings who were squealing as they collided with each other. One of them was curled up in my lap snoozing peacefully as I gently petted her scaly hide being careful not to wake her.

"_How long have you been able to understand us?"_ Toothless asked.

"I was just born this way." I said fiddling with the hatchling's floppy ears, "it was one of the reasons why I kept getting beaten up and called "freak" by the bullies in Manhattan."

Toothless let out a low pained moan as if remembering something from long ago.

"When are you gonna tell us?" I asked, "You know…about-?"

Toothless just looked at me sadly, _"I will tell you, but not right now, I want to wait until Erika and Ethan and their friends get back from training."_ He said, _"And…speaking of training…you should start looking for a Dragon here, I'm sure Coal will like you."_

I just went with the change of subject.

Coal, one of Toothless' and Aria's hatchling had to be the most hyperactive and over affectionate Night Fury I had ever encountered. He must have been a black lab in a past life. He was constantly bouncing up and down and half the time I was with him I spent on my back with him almost smushing me and nearly drowned me in Dragon slobber.

"_Come on! Let's play Liam! Let's play!"_ Coal kept saying over and over and over. I had to restrain myself from giving him a good kick. Toothless seeing I was getting close to completely losing it forcefully shoved his hatchling away from me.

"_Coal! How many times do I and your mother have to go through this!"_ Toothless snapped, _"NO Squashing people! You could crush someone! You're a lot more powerful than you think!"_

I couldn't help but snigger. Coal saw and stuck his thick slightly forked tongue at me. I returned the gesture.

I spent the rest of the day trying to find a possible Night Fury to bond with but, no luck. Toothless was out of the question. If his Rider had been killed like Erika thought, he wasn't going to bond with another one even after a thousand years.

But if that was what happened…how was Toothless still alive? Most bonded Dragons died when their Rider did, with the exception of old age. And in the worst case scenario, if a Dragon's Rider is killed, there's a very solid pattern of their Dragon going mad from grief and tearing the schmuck who killed their Rider to shreds then either killing themselves or rampaging around trying to provoke anyone and anything they encounter into killing them.

Erika, Etha, Sean, Greg, Jean, and…Arthur…(I still can't figure out why I feel so annoyed with him around…) got back from training mid afternoon, but things got pushed back a bit because of Erika's date with Arthur. We were already done with dinner by the time they got back. I was pretty much fuming by then. I had been expecting that they went to go see some romantic flick-but Erika hates those. They went to a double feature of some old Miyazaki movies. _Princess Mononoke _and _Howl's Moving Castle_.

"…If you don't have a strong stomach, keep a plastic bag handy if you watch _Princess Mononoke_." Erika said, "That scenes with the melting flesh and Demon Wormies? Yuck!" she stuck her tongue out comically and finished off her soda.

"Are you done?" I asked slightly irritably, "Remember what we're all here for?" For a full horrifying thirty seconds Erika just looked at me comfusesd, then she remembered.

"Oh! Toothless!" she said, "Thanks for reminding me Liam!" She was the first at the door to the pastures, "Come on what are you guys all waiting for?"

Soon we were all sitting around Toothless. He was ready.

"You'd better have a good reason for keeping this bottled up for so long Toothless!" Erika said, "Don't you know how unhealthy that is! It makes your hai-errrr…..scales fall off!"

Toothless just took a breath, _"Liam, be ready to translate I…I don't want to describe it more than once…"_

And he told us.

By the time I was done translating (and after getting over the initial shock that Toothless' Rider had been_ the_ First Rider and the snorts of hearing of a Viking Tribe called the "Numbnuts"), I could barely speak. Ethan was in tears. Greg and Jean both looked like they were about to be sick. Arthur wasn't letting anyone see his face. Sean _was_ sick. Erika, looked both upset and angry.

"Why did you keep this bottled up!" Erika demanded, "And for eleven hundred years!"

"How is it you're still alive?" Arthur asked, "I thought that most Bonded Dragons died shortly after their Rider did?"

"_He's…asking…how? Not Why?" _Toothless asked. I nodded then turned to Artuhur.

"He was asking if you were asking "how" and not "Why'?" I said, "Toothless…how…how did you survive that?"

"_I…I was made immortal. So I would fight in the Ragnorak."_ Toothless said.

"Ragnorak?" I asked, "But…didn't that just happen forty years ago?"

Toothless snorted slightly indignant, _"No! The one that will take place at the end of the world!"_

"Oh….the one when Mimir's head gets chatty." Erika said, "Dad read Ethan and I Norse legends for bedtime stories." she said at the look I gave her.

"Lemme get this straight…you were made immortal…" I said.

"_By Odin and Father Thor…"_ Toothless said.

"Okay, made immortal by the gods of Asgard so you'd be able to fight in the Ragnorak when it's the end of the world."

Stunned silence.

"Immortal?" Erika said, "Is…is that even possible?"

"After 2012, that question lost all meaning." Ethan said, "Especially now. Now, we've got monsters and zombies and magic and everything else that sixty years ago, was thought to be only found in RPGs."

He was right. Reality was a fragile thing these days. People would believe just about anything nowadays.

There wasn't much we could do at the immediate moment-well Erika gave Toothless a bit of a yelling at-so we all just went home to mull things over. I was up almost all night. I couldn't sleep after the grisly description of how Hiccup, Toothless' Rider, had been killed.

_The bond between Dragon and Rider…I've always heard it as being one of the most powerful natural forces in the world…_I thought looking up at the ceiling which was now adorned with glow in the dark stickers given to me by Mrs. Haroldson. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for Toothless to have lost his Rider. But a few Riders who survived the death of their Dragon said it felt like a part of themselves had died.

I yawned. I had to get some sleep. My first day of training was tomorrow. I would have to put these thoughts aside for now. Maybe during training, I could figure something out to get Erika to notice me even with Arthur around…I yawned and rolled over pulling the sheets closer around me and dropped off to sleep.

We all woke up early the next day. Mrs. Haroldson and Mr. Bill made omelets for breakfast. They were delicious!

"Where do you get mini hams?" I asked picking up a piece with my fork.

"That's bacon." Erika said, "This kind is a little healthier than the kind Americans usually eat."

Oh that's right, this was Canadian Bacon! One guy I knew in Manhattan ate it with cheese and barbeque sauce in a sandwich. We all finished our breakfast and soon Erika, Ethan, and I were on our way to the training ring with Jet and Zephyr. I felt a little out of place. I was the only cadet without a Dragon. I think…

The training center was a large domed building with a large cement lined pit in the back where several more cadets and their Dragons were training. In a section off to the side there were some without Dragons.

"Don't feel too left out." I heard Arthur said, "I was training for over a year before Lenneth accepted me as her Rider."

I turned to face him, "It took that long?" I asked, "How exactly does this Rider and Dragon bonding thing work anyway?"

Arthur tilted his head to the side thinking, "Well…Dragons choose their Rider, not the other way around so it can take up to five years for a Dragon to choose their Rider. They're pretty picky-hey!" His Nadder, Lenneth had nipped at him playfully.

"Lenneth! I meant Dragons know what they're looking for." Lenneth made a happy crooning noise, "So, don't worry about it. You're a Night Fury Whisperer so at least you've got it narrowed down. There's bound to be a Night Fury who'll like you. And this is just me…but I'm kinda hoping you bond with Toothless…:

"Toothless?" I asked totally taken by surprise, "But he said he won't accept another Rider, not after what happened to Hiccup."

And speaking of Hiccup, who on earth would name their kid "Hiccup"? I think this just proves that Vikings just _liked_ the letter "H" and they were running out of "H" names. Arthur looked over at the training ring.

"Well…there's really nothing much we can do…" he said.

He was right. It was out of our hands.

"Awricht Cadets!" Chief Geof said galumphing over and clapping his hands, "We're doing target practice today, Greg, Jean, get the Skeet shooter and NO hitting anyone or it's a 'undred laps fer ye!"

Greg and Jean dashed off to get the Skeet shooter while the rest of us headed for the locker rooms. After stowing my stuff in a locker I went over to the weapons rack. It was lined with all sorts of guns. Caliber Max's, 45-67 Snipers, Wyvern shots, everything to keep a pyromaniac happy. I galced over at Arthur who picked a 45-67 Sniper. It was about medium sized, lightweight, the kind they use at summer camp for riffle class.

I took the Caliber Max. It was _heavy_. A lot heavier than it looked on T.V.

"Urrrwaaaauuuggghhhhhh!" I staggered backward nearly crashing into Sean.

"WAH! Liam! Watch it!" Ethan yelped.

"Isn't that too heavy for you?" Sean said grabbing me shoulders to steady me.

"N-No…" I said hoisting the Caliber Max onto my shoulder. It hurt! It was resting right on my most recent burn scar. As long as the gun didn't jerk around too much it wouldn't open it up again. My upper body strength wasn't much, but I was fairly strong and I can give a few good punches.

"Liam…"Sean asked suspiciously, "Are you…jealous?"

My whole face went beat red, "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about." I snapped heading out the door to the ring. As I did, I overheard what Ethan was saying to Sean.

"He's sweet on Erika…" he whispered. Was this thing loaded?

After Chief gave me a brief demo on how to operate the Caliber Max, all the Cadets divvied up into groups and started taking shots at Skeet. The air was filled with the sounds of gunshots and yells of "PULL!". My aim was horrible at first but after an hour I was able to hit a quarter of the Skeet, and by then my shoulder was hurting. I just sucked it up.

After target practice, the Cadets who had Dragons were doing some warm up flights. I and the ones without Dragons were learning how to use magic crystals. I finally found something I was a complete natural at. My only hitch was that I was a little over enthusiastic with my magic and nearly turned the training ring into a swimming pool. Water was the element I was the most in tune with so anything I did with water I'd be able to do with ease.

"Jus stay calm an' ye'll 'ave no problem." Geof said, "Emotion is the base line for how strong your magic will be."

It was almost mid-afternoon when training was over. We all were putting the weapons and training gear away when it happened. Just as I lifted a large and heavy box of skeet my shoulder _hurt_! The burn scar had opened up!

"AAAAAAAAAAHH!" I dropped the box, and falling to my knees clutched at my shoulder. Seconds later, Erika, Ethan, and everyone else were all crowded around me.

"Liam what's wrong!" Erika said sounding worried, "What happened to your shoulder?"

"I-it's nothing…" I said through gritted teeth.

"Liam…You'd better get your shoulder looked at." Ethan said. The next thing I knew both Ethan and Erika were leading me back to the ranch. Soon I was in my room sitting on my bed feeling totally embarrassed. I couldn't believe this happened on my first day of training…

Erika came in with a first aid kit and sat down on the bed next to me.

"Liam." She said, 'Take off your shirt."

I jolted and turned bright red.

"Wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh!" I stammered.

"Oh don't get so excited." Erika said rolling her eyes, "I'm just going to do first aid."

I hesitated then I pulled my shirt off over my head.

"Liam…" Erika gasped, "What…?" she was completely speechless. My entire torso and upper arms were covered in scars, burn scars, and shadows of old bruises. And on my hands were markings from when my mother put my hands on the stove.

"Liam…why didn't you say anything?" Erika said, "Were these ever treated?" I shook my head. Erika sighed and opened the first aid kit and pulled out some cotton balls and antiseptic. It stung a little as she started to clean up my injuries. I felt more ashamed that she had to see me like this...

"Who did this to you?" she asked. There was no beating around the bush…

"…My…My mother…" I said. Erika gasped

"Your _mother_ did this to you? No wonder you left New York…" She said, "It really is good you came here. Don't worry if she comes, I won't let her get you." She continued to dab at my injuries, "Let me know if it hurts at all."

"It doesn't." I said and in response she pressed down hard and it REALLY hurt!

"OW!" I shouted.

"Don't bottle things like that up!" Erika said, "Or I'll get very sadistic. We're here to help you Liam." She continued to clean me up and after several slightly uncomfortable minutes she was done putting the band-aids on me. I pulled my shirt back on with some relief.

"Thanks…" I said. Erika gently slugged me on the arm.

"That was for keeping that to yourself." She said. She closed the first aid kit.

"Erika…" I said, "I…You…you were the first one to ever show me any kindness…" I said.

"Don't mention it." Erika said a little sheepishly flapping her hand feebly. On impulse I grasped her hand.

"Thank you so much…" I said. Without realizing it our faces were getting closer and closer. Erika noticed first and jumped off the bed blushing furiously.

"I-I'd better let you get some rest." She said, "Just come down whenever…" she hurriedly left the room closing the door behind her. I sat on my bed in shock and feeling a little guilty…I had almost kissed Erika! But she and Arthur had a thing going. It wouldn't be right. But I didn't want to be with anyone else _but_ Erika.

I took off my boots and taking Erika's advice, lay down to rest for a while.

_I guess I know what Toothless is feeling…_I thought absentmindedly, _Dad just died last week…It's like there's a huge hole in my chest…_Tears pricked my eyes at those thoughts. Even though I barely remembered Dad, we had been very close. Mom included before my fifth birthday…the day after that she…changed. Some fallout heavy wind had blown into Vancouver and she had been out at the farmer's market…that was it…

I yawned feeling drowsy. Blinking I tried to stay awake.

No…there was no way I could imagine what Toothless was feeling. There was close to nothing anyone alive could do.

_Nothing anyone… "alive" can do?_

I sat bolt upright. It was like someone had turned on a light bulb over my head. Maybe no one here could help Toothless but…what about his Rider? What if…This was going to be really going out on a limb but I had to try something. I leapt off and left my room and ran downstairs.

"Hey Erika? IS there a computer I can use?" I asked once I found her.

"Yeah," she said, "You want to use it?" she asked.

"Yeah." I said, "Just…to surf the net, YouTube videos, that kind of stuff." I improvised. She motioned to follow her. We went into her grandpa's study, she said the wireless connection was best there.

"And if you go looking at books be sure you put them back where you found them." She said after setting the computer up, "Have fun.' She said with a parting smile.

I sat down and brought up Google.

"Okay…ghosts ghosts…" I muttered and typed in "Communicating with ghosts". While I was waiting for the fifty million results to load I looked at the bookshelves. There were books on almost every subject from history to (yuck) chemistry. Apparently Mr. Bill must have been a bit of a mad scientist judging from all the mechanics books and the messy chemists set. There was even a work bench with some half finished gizmos.

I turned back to the screen and started narrowing down my results. All I ended up with some stuff that required a psychic medium and I was pretty sure I wasn't psychic. I got up to stretch my legs and peruse the books. I flipped through an anatomy book on Dragons and was about to put it back when my sleeve caught on something and while I tried to free myself the shelf swung inwards, like a door.

"I thought this only happened in movies…" I muttered chuckling to myself and walking in to make sure I didn't make anything fall. All that was in the compartment was a table and a black book. Curious I picked it up and flipped through it. It was full of all sorts of weird circles and symbols-it was some kind of magic book-almost sixty years old. I flipped to the preamble to try and figure out what it was for.

I almost dropped it when I finished.

It was a book on Necromancy.

Ideas started rushing through my head at top speed. And when I was done sorting them out one idea, one insane idea stood out. I was holding the answer t helping Toothless in my hands. If I did this right…I could bring Hiccup back. Resolved to what I was about to do I tucked to book under my arm and left the compartment closing the shelf door behind me and after shutting the computer off left the study and instead of going back to my room I went right for the pastures and made a beeline for Toothless as soon as I saw him.

"Toothless…" I said. He turned to face me.

"_What is it?"_ he asked then he froze, _"Liam…what are you thinking?"_ He was on to me…I think…

"Everything's gonna be alright I said, "Just hold on for a few days and everything will be alright."

Toothless leapt to his feet looking extremely worried. Did someone say this to Toothless before? And were they also planning on trying to bring Hiccup back to life?

"_Liam. Tell me. What are you planning to do?"_ he sounded worried.

"I can't tell you." I said shaking my head, "But it'll work out I know it will." I turned to go but Toothless swung his tail around blocking my progress.

"_Liam, tell me NOW!"_ he said.

Now what was I going to do? I couldn't let Toothless see the Necromancy book.

"Liam? What's that book you've got?" Erika asked.

"Um….Just a ghost story book." I lied.

"Did you get that from Grandpa's study?" Erika asked accusingly trying to reach for the book, "Just give it to me and I'll put it back and I won't say a word." I tried to cover it up, which was made difficult because Toothless was trying to get a look too and had now wrapped his tail around my middle to prevent me from running off.

"Just-let-me-take-tha-…." Erika's jaw dropped ans her words trailed off as she finally caught a glimpse of what book I held.

"Liam…How did you get that?" she asked. I finally managed to wriggle free from Toothless and stumbled backwards away from both him and Erika.

"I just found it." I said.

"Liam…" Erika said, "That's a Necromancy book!"

"I know." I said, "I need it right now."

"But Liam…" Erika said blanching and taking a step towards me, "That's the book that caused WWIII!"

"Then that guy did it wrong!" I said, "I won't I'm bringing Hiccup back! He's the only one who can help Toothless."

Toothless lunged right at me snatching the book right out of my hands and before I could even react, he threw it down to the grass ten feet away and with a burst of plasma…incinerated it.

I was speechless.

"Toothless!" I wailed, "Why did you-? How-?" I groaned and held my head in my hands, "Oh great...there goes your last chance of ever seeing your Rider again…"

"_I won't have you turn into a Shade Liam!"_ Toothless growled, _"That's what happened to the last person who used this book! I won't let that happen again!"_

"But you said that your Rider-." I began.

"_YOU are my Rider now Liam!"_ Toothless said.

"What!" I bleated. I could have sworn I heard him wrong!

"What did he say?" Erika asked look from Toothless t me and back again.

"He…He…Said…I'm his Rider now…" I said not entirely believing it myself. I wasn't sure what I was expecting from Erika, but I wasn't expecting a near bone crushing hug!

"Accept! Accept!" She said jumping up and down while she was hugging me, "I'll get you a saddle!" She released me and I gasped in relief, she had been cutting off my air supply! I turned to Toothless. I took a deep breath.

"I thought you wouldn't accept a new Rider.'" I said.

Toothless smiled slightly the look in his eyes saying quite plainly: "So did I."

"_Will you accept?"_ Toothless asked.

"I will." I said.

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**How many of you actually thoguht I was going to have Liam use Necromancy to try and bring Hiccup back to life? *counts hands* well...I didn't!**

**This chapter had a lot of stuff happening,. Toothless starting to go back to his old self a little, him finally opening up, the gang finding out about Liam;s past, and Liam gettging the incentive to do something insane and Toothless accepting Liam as his Rider.**

**Well...time to get back to my homework!**

**stay tuned for chapter ten: Liam speaks a dead language.**

**Chocobo Scribe signing off!**


	11. Chapter Ten: Liam Speaks a Dead Language

**And it's a other nice long chapter! I've had quite a bit of homework and my dorm room's been like a sauna since the window's jammed shut thank goodness its cooled off...anyways, between homework and other stuff I finished this chapter and started the desings for my Toothless cosplay for the 2011 FanimeCon! Anyways, on with the story! I;m sure you're all dying to know what happens next.**

**Edited 10/31/10- thanks to Sky High Fan i found that I forgot to put in some details so I put in some new text. enjoy!**

**Standard disclaimers apply, Read and Review or Toothless will GRRR!**

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**Chapter Ten: Liam Speaks a Dead Language**

This shed was a mess! Honestly I don't know _what_ goes through Grandpa's head…I dug through saddles and bags of Dragon Nip trying to find Toothless' Saddle. It was one of the really big ones, I knew that. I was hoping I wasn't going to have to run to the lobby to get that _really_ old saddle. That thing was over a thousand years old! It would fall apart soon as I touched it. I threw a few saddles aside and…

"Finally!"I cheered extracting the large leather saddle. It was almost as big as I was. I hoisted it up on my head and dashed back out to the pastures where Liam and Toothless were waiting.

"Found it!" I puffed, "I thought I was going have to get that _really_ old saddle Toothless!" I dropped the saddle onto my feet to catch my breath. These things weren't light and Toothless' was pretty heavy.

"How do I get it on?" Liam asked pointing to the saddle.

"We'll both put it on." I said, "This baby requires two people to get on." I unclasped the buckles and both Liam and I started getting the saddle on Toothless.

"You don't how happy this makes me." I said without thinking, "Toothless has been depressed for so long…I don't know how it happened…but he's starting to move on. You're really something Liam."

Liam flushed red and looked away busying himself fastening the straps around Toothless' shoulders. I ran over to Toothless' tail to makes sure his bionic tailfin was secure and to attach the manual back up just in case the nerves got disconnected.

"Okay, you're all set now we just-." Then I remembered I had forgotten to get Liam a harness!

"Ahhh…you wait there! I'll get you a harness!" I said dashing back to the shed then I had to run back again to drag Liam along because I didn't know his size. Thankfully it didn't take too long to get it on him. There is a bit of time limit of how long the first flight can be delayed. No one's sure why but the first flight between Dragon and Rider somehow seals the bond, like a contract.

Soon we were back outside and I was finally giving Liam a leg up onto Toothless' back. I half expected Liam to fall off the other side but I guess that only happens in movies or on horses.

"Okay," I said, "Just lean in whatever direction you want to go, forward to dive, backward to climb. Stay as flat as you can on Toothless but don't slump in the saddle-try to…crouch." Liam drank in every word determined to get it memorized.

"Oh and don't panic if the bionic tail fin gets disconnected from Toothless' tail nerves." I said, "There's some backup attached here's a cheat sheet you can use." I handed him a quickly scrawled note of the foot to tailfin motions for the back up system.

"Okay…" Liam gulped looking white as a sheet, "I'm ready…I think…"

"Take it easy." I said to Toothless, "No wild corkscrews okay?" Toothless just snorted and laid his ears back stubbornly. I couldn't tell him what to do anymore; being bossy was reserved for Liam now. I got back far enough for Toothless to spread out his wings for takeoff. With a powerful downward thrust, a gust if air, and a loud scream from Liam, they were off. I shielded my eyes against the sunlight watching them fade into a tiny black dot in the distance.

"There they go." I said. Another gust of air buffeted me and sent me flying forwards!

"!" I shouted and landed in a heap flat on my face. Aria snorted and before I could start to get up she grabbed the back of my jacket in her jaws and pulled me up to my feet. After a meticulous scrutinization-whoch involved a lot of sniffing and ear twitching-she snorted seeming satisfied. After Ethan and I bonded with Jet and Zephyr, Toothless and Aria kinda adopted us and now Liam's been added to the family with him bonding with Toothless now I guess.

"Drakke!" I said. He had been gone for almost half a month! We had been really lucky that there hadn't been any serious attacks while he was gone.

"Where's Toothless?" Drakke asked. I should mention, Western Draconians, are among the very few species of Dragon that can manage Human speech. As for the other species, they are smart enough to manage it they just lack the proper anatomy.

"You just missed him." I said. Drakke growled sounding annoyed and grumbled something about how stubborn Toothless was being.

"…and if you had gotten here sooner, you'd have been able to meet his new Rider." I said.

For the first time in my living memory, I witnessed a Dragon dumbstruck! Drakke's jaw dropped and he gaped at me incredulously. He recovered his composure a few seconds later then said, "Who is it?"

"His name's Liam." I said, "He just got here a while back after coming through the Rockies on foot. He actually ran into Toothless on his way here. But from what Liam said it didn't go very well…"

"Yes…" Drakke said, "Toothless looked like he saw a ghost…From his reaction I'd say that our friend Liam must bear a striking resemblance to Toothless' previous Rider Hiccup…"

"Hmm…maybe he's a descendent…" I said. Of course Liam couldn't be a resurrected Hiccup who had lost his memory, Necromancy didn't work all it did was make Zombies everyone knew that. And I didn't think reincarnation was possible. And there was _no_ way Liam could be a clone. Vikings burned their dead so there'd be no DNA material to try to copy.

"I'm not so sure…" Drakke said mysteriously. I _hate _it when he does that!

"DRAKKE!" I shouted puffing out, "Now I won't be able to sleep for weeks!" Drakke just laughed.

"I don't want to kill the suspense." He said innocently flapping a large claw absentmindedly. For being the Town Guardian (Sort of) he sure was a total goof! I tried to worm something out of Drakke even if it did turn out to be what I thought. He just laughed and evaded me perfectly.

Well…I should've expected that…he's 1500 years old after all…He knew every trick in the book. Drakke flew off to keep watch for any Mutants and Zombies. I went back into the house to get ready for my shift feeding the hatchlings.

"Hey David." I said entering the shed where we kept all our Dragon food, "Need some help?"

"Ah, sure Erika." David said, "Mahalo." We both hefted the large red cooler filled with Mahi Mahi tuna and together carted it out to the pastures. We were greeted by several squealing Night Fury Hatchlings all wearing different colored ribbons. We couldn't name them properly unless they were going to stay on the ranch for breeding. The naming is up to whoever adopts their Dragon. While they're on the ranch we call them by color.

"One at a time little ones!" I said trying to calm the over excited hatchlings. They got so excited over almost everything; from feeding time to visitors. Though when little kids visit it's hard to tell who's more excited the hatchlings or the kids. David and I started feeding the hatchlings they snatched up the fish and scampered away to their parents to eat. Sounds of chewing and some retching followed as the mothers chewed up the fish for the hatchlings that hadn't grown teeth yet.

"You sure seem happy about something Erika." David said.

"Oh yeah!" I said turning around, "Toothless finally accepted a new Rider!"

"Wow really?" David said looking just as happy as I was, "Who?"

"Liam." I said, "He was actually willing to do something _beyond_ insane to help Toothless."

I filled David in on what had happened earlier that day. However…I made it sound like Liam had just been threatening to do something insane rather that tell him Liam was actually planning to do Necromancy.

And speaking of which…why had Grandpa been keeping it in his study?

Soon as my shift was over I went into Grandpa's study and booted up the computer. What had Liam been looking for on the internet? I looked up recent searches.

_Communicating with ghosts…_I ran down the list and using the recent searches narrowed it down to instructions for performing a séance. Hold on a second…séances were done to summon ghosts right? I'd heard of them being used in paranormal investigations-as a way to get into contact with ghosts. And in movies and paranormal documentaries there was always someone with a marker and paper who'd write down whatever the ghosts had to say.

But you also needed a psychic medium…

_So that's why Liam thought he had to resort to Necromancy…_I thought, _There aren't any psychics in New Berk…But…I think there's a paranormal professor in Toronto…_I typed in "Paranromal Professors in Alaska" and after a moment I found what I was looking for.

_Professor Seamus 'O' Hara Jr._

_Studies paranormal phenomena and its effects on Humans and Dragons. Married to Cecilia 'O' Hara, a psychic medium the couple have performed several paranormal investigations and on some occasions have performed séances to make contact with a Dragon's deceased Rider or a Rider's deceased Dragon. They both are situated in the University of Toronto._

"That's it!" I blurted out. I think Grandpa knew Professor 'O' Hara and Ms. Cecilia. I searched through Grandpa's contacts and sure enough, I found a phone number and e-mail address. I fired up _Skype_ and punched in the phone number and crossed my fingers that his computer was on.

It was.

A middle aged man with shaggy straw colored hair appeared on screen.

"Hello?" I said, "Professor 'O'Hara?"

"Erika? Bill's granddaughter?" Prof. 'O' Hara said. I nodded, "Ah, could you make this brief? I have several students hammering at my door."

"Okay, I need to have a séance performed." I said, "I need to contact Toothless' previous Rider.

"I think I can make some time." Prof. 'O' Hara said, "Hold on." He went off screen and I heard him telling his students he was unavailable. After several complaints and after Scout curled up in my lap he came back on screen, "Alright, now, why is it you want to contact Toothless' previous Rider?"

I told him everything. He only stopped me every now and then to take notes. After I was done he went over them then looked up.

"So…Toothless finally accepted a new Rider…but you still wish to make contact with Hiccup? Why is that?"

"He thinks it was his fault Hiccup died." I said recalling what Liam had translated from Toothless, "Maybe…if we could somehow just ask Hiccup to tell Toothless it wasn't maybe that would help." Prof. 'O' Hara rubbed his goatee thoughtfully.

"Perhaps…yes…I'll send an airship for you and your friends, you'd best bring the whole gang Erika we'll need their help." Prof. 'O' Hara said picking up a cell phone and a directory and punching in a number.

"Ok, thanks I'll tell everyone soon as Liam and Toothless get back from their first flight." I said then logged off.

_I sure hope this works…_I thought. Then it came to me…why hadn't anyone tried a séance to get into contact with Hiccup before? Well…these things were very hit or miss, either something happened or it didn't.

I started to get some things packed for the trip to Toronto after telling Mom and Grandpa about what I was planning on. Then I asked Grandpa about the Necromancy Book.

"I was hoping you wouldn't find that Erika…" Grandpa said looking into his mug of coffee. Every time he has to have a serious talk he always does it over coffee.

"It wasn't actually me who found it." I said, "It was Liam." I then told Grandpa about what had happened earlier today. He was so quiet for so long I started fidgeting in my seat.

"I was holding onto that book for safe keeping and maybe in the hopes of that maybe someone might be able to work the magic in that book properly." Grandpa sighed and took a sip from his mug, "Professor Alvin was one of Toothless' previous caretakers. He must have found out who Toothless was and tried to bring back his Rider but something went wrong and instead the Undead came. Also I know that something about Alvin's research is how his wife found me, Grandma and your Dad and Uncle and sent Toothless to come live here in New Berk."

"What do you mean?" I asked also taking a gulp of coffee. Grandpa was about to take a sip from his coffee mug then set it down.

"Toothless is probably going to kill me for this-he made me swear not to tell anyone, especially anyone in our family, but you and Ethan have the right to know and…yes you should get Sean too."

"Grandpa?" I asked.

"Just get them and I'll explain everything." Grandpa said. I got up from the table and left to go find Ethan and Sean. What could possibly be so important that Toothless wouldn't want us to know? A few ideas ran through my head but I discarded most of them, what could the chances be? I found Ethan outside helping David with feeding and Sean was of course in the weight room at the training ring.

Several minutes later the three of us were all sitting around the kitchen table with Grandpa. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose, took a deep breath, and started.

"You know that old saddle we have in the lobby right?" he said. We nodded, "You know that it's been in the family for a long time. Well…when Toothless first came to this ranch after Old Berk was evacuated when the Mutants attacked…he told me that it used to be his saddle."

"What?' Ethan gasped, "Grandpa you knew who Toothless' first Rider was too?"

"Yes." Grandpa said, "That saddle was made by Hiccup, Toothless' previous Rider-and he was also the First Rider as well."

Silence for a full three minutes.

"WHAT!"

"YOU MEAN HICCUP'S OUR ANCESTOR!"

"DANG TOOTHLESS HAS A LONG MEMORY!"

Grandpa kneaded his forehead mumbling, "Toothless was right…hyperactivity _does_ run in the family…"

Ethan, Sean, and I couldn't stop talking about what we had just learned. Sure we knew we could trace our family back to Old Berk a good while back but being the decedents of the First Rider? _That_ I did _not_ expect.

_Oh my GOD!_ I suddenly thought remembering how Liam and I nearly kissed. We looked pretty similar, and according to Toothless he was Hiccup's spitting image so…Liam must be a descendent too! This was getting _way too_ weird! When he and Toothless got back I had to tell him there could be chance we were cousins and there could be no boyfriend/girlfriend thing between us.

Though there was this nagging suspicion that there was another reason.

"We'd better tell the others when Liam and Toothless get back." Sean said, "How long have they been gone? It's almost eleven p.m."

"Almost the whole day." I said, "Those two are gonna sleep well tonight." I yawned hugely, I was no night owl, right after eleven p.m. I start to conk out, another reason I can't stand doing night runs.

Liam and Toothless didn't get back until well into the next day. Ethan and I were helping David with feeding when they touched down in the pasture. Toothless trotted over to us and Liam slid off a little clumsily.

"So," I said, "How was the first flight?"

Liam's eyes widened, "it was AMAZING!" he said rapturously, "I thought I was going to be sick for the first hour but soon as my stomach caught up with the rest of me everything was fine."

He then went on telling us about everything he and Toothless saw and a near run in with some Wind Vipers and soaring past an airship. Liam finished looking almost confused.

"Why do you look so confused?" I asked.

"Not sure…" Liam said, "I kept expecting some feeling…I dunno maybe like…I've done this before or something?" I knew what he was getting at.

"Hehehehe…Liam? Doncha think it's a bit too soon to be jumping to _that_ conclusion?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah." Ethan said, "You could just be related to Hiccup…"he paused. "Like us…"

Liam turned redder than a tomato and clapped both his hands to his mouth!

"OH-MY-GOD! I ALMOST-? WE COULD BE-?" he was reduced to asking half questions. Toothless raised what would've been his eyebrows and actually started laughing at something we obviously didn't know. He gently nuzzled Liam's head with his snout and crooned something.

"What?" Liam said in response to whatever Toothless said, "I'm not related to Hiccup? But then how-?" he trailed off holding his head in his hands and I somehow knew what he was thinking. If he wasn't at all related to Hiccup or to us, why then was he Hiccup's spitting image.

My mental list came back to mind.

Descendent (Scratched)

Coincidence

Clone (Scratched but not entirely…)

Reincarnation

Was resurrected but lost all memories.

I seriously hoped it wasn't "D".

"Let's go find the others." I said, "We also all need to pack up a few day's supplies we might be headed for Toronto in a few days." Liam stiffened.

"Toronto?" he said, then jolted backward looking both scared and angry, "NO! I'm not going! Erika you know what I went through in New York! What if…what if my mother finds me and tried to take me back to New York!"

_Oh crap…_I thought totally embarrassed.

"Why Toronto?' Ethan asked.

"Well…I called up Prof. 'O' Hara Jr." I said, "I asked if he and Mrs. 'O' Hara could try and perform a séance."

"What for?" David asked.

I scratched my head, "Well…Liam…" I said facing him, "I do have to agree that we are going to need Hiccup's help so…we should ask him for it."

Liam gaped at me speechless.

Ethan struggled to find his voice, "Sis…you mean…we're…?" he trailed off.

I nodded, "We're going to have a little chat with Hiccup's ghost."

"Bust isn't that the same as Necromancy?" Liam said after finding his voice.

"Not really." I said, "In slightly comical terms…basically we'll be saying "Excuse us Hiccup? We would like to have a little chat with you could you possibly spare a few minutes? All what we'll be doing is trying to get his attention."

Toothless did not look amused at all. Okay maybe what I just said was slightly tasteless…And I probably should be showing my ancestor a little more respect…

"Sorry Toothless…" I muttered, "That was the only way I could think of to easily explain what a séance is…" I turned to Liam, "If you don't want to come I understand, but I think Toothless might have to come."

"N-no it's okay." Liam said, "I'll go." Wow, what a change if heart but something about it seemed forced, Liam patted Toothless' head, "Toothless said he'd keep me safe."

Ethan laughed, "Get ready to have a second shadow Liam. Toothless isn't going to let you out of his sight at all."

I made a mental note to keep all the duct tape and Krazy Glue out of Toothless' reach. Not that he would be able to use them due to a lack of thumbs. I just had the feeling that if Toothless could, he would resort to gluing Liam to his back.

"Just make sure you give Liam room to breathe okay Toothless?" I said, "He can take care of himself too y'know." Toothless snorted and with his head pushed Liam closer to his side. Liam yelped slightly. Geez…bonded Dragons could get so possessive…I was pretty sure Toothless had said something indicating that Liam was utterly helpless.

"Toothless! I _can_ take care of myself!" Liam complained.

I didn't say anything. There was winning an argument against a Dragon. They were incredibly clever-which contributed to their love of puzzles. Ever tried getting a Dragon away from _Professor Layton_? Close to impossible. Toothless gave me a slightly smug smile, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"How about we go get everyone else?" Ethan said, "We all need to be ready for when the Professor's airship comes to pick us up." I was all for it.

"I'll go get Arthur!" I said feeling my ears grow warm. As I left I was sure I heard Liam hiss slightly. Must have been my imagination. Was he getting his hopes up? Well…I was still sure that Liam must also be somehow related to Hiccup and I was totally head over heels for Arthur already. I mean, the guy's really cool and all, but he's also really down to earth too, that's what I really look for in someone and Arthur being a bit of a goofball helps too.

About an hour later Arthur, Sean, Greg, Jean, and Fred along with me, Liam, and Ethan were all gathered together in the pastures back on the ranch with our Dragons. Liam wasn't looking at me or Arthur. I sure hoped I hadn't made him mad…

I explained everything to them.

Arthur looked a little skeptical, "Are you sure about this Erika?" he asked, "This séance sounds a bit dodgy if you ask me…"

"Yeah." Greg said, "What if Hiccup's ghost gets stuck in one of us?"

I rolled my eyes, "That only happens in movies Greg." I said, "What'll happen most likely is a ghost recording or one of us scribbling out whatever he has to say that's how it always happens on those paranormal investigation docos."

"What about a ghost appearing?" Jean asked.

"Hmmm…we can't see ghosts normally, but they show up on camera, assuming Hiccup's not camera shy." I said.

Toothless made a funny grunting sound that sounded like laughter. HE was clearly amused at something we didn't know.

"What?" I asked Toothless, "Share the joke big guy!" I turned to Liam, "Liam, what's he saying?"

"I'm not sure." Liam said stiffly. He sounded pretty upset…

"Liam…if you don't want to go to Toronto, just say so." I said, "I'm sorry. I…I'm just so goddamn impulsive. I didn't think…God I was so stupid…" Liam's face softened a bit.

"It…wasn't that…" Liam said blushing slightly.

Huh?

Fred fidgeted on the spot a little, "So…when's the airship getting here? Do we have to go to the dock?"

"Oh no." I said turning to face Fred, "The Professor said he'd send a private airship directly here to New Berk. It should be here around noon. So we should get some stuff packed. Just in case we're in Toronto for a few days." We all dispersed to pack and get our Dragons ready-even private airships could situate several Dragons. When everyone else had left I approached Liam and Toothless.

"Liam, are you really sure you want to go?" I asked, "I mean…we'll be pretty close to New York and there might be the chance _she_ will be there in Toronto looking for you." Liam looked away and turned to fiddle with something on Toothless' saddle.

"Liam…" I said then when I got no response I gave Toothless the 'help me' look and pointed to Liam's back. Toothless got the message and made a low crooning sound to Liam.

"What?" Liam said in response, "No…It's okay Toothless, really. I'll go."

Toothless whined slightly and nuzzled Liam's head gently.

"Toothless, I said it'll be okay." Liam said, "You'll be there." Toothless purred gently and moved his large black head closer to Liam like a horse would gently nuzzling him. Liam wrapped his arms around Toothless' thick neck and pressed his face into the Dragon's neck. I left to give them some privacy.

In a few hours the airship from Prof. 'O'Hara Jr. arrived right on time. The airship was almost as big as a house with three cabins for us and a large docking bay for our Dragons. We could easily fly in and out as we pleased-but when we flew through fallout heavy areas, such as the northern areas of Ontario we'd all have to stay inside. Fallout does weird things to you and it also caused most of the mutations and makes the Zombies really hard to deal with. It makes them so tough, only Dragon fire can destroy them.

But for the first few miles we'd all fly alongside the airship.

New Berk faded back into the distance as we flew east towards Toronto. I leaned forward over Zephyr's head and rested my chin on hands the way I did during leisure flights. I glanced over at Liam and Toothless; Liam looked almost tiny riding Toothless-who was about twice the size of his offspring. Toothless kept growling advice to Liam and roared in a panic when Liam leaned too far to the left and they nearly rolled completely over. Sean maneuvered Wolf over next to Toothless and somehow managed to help Liam steady Toothless.

He was going to need a lot more practice. Good thing for him Toothless could teach him all the basics on the fly. I laughed at my own joke.

A few hours later, we were all inside the airship now that we were going through some fallout heavy airspace. We were all gathered in the main cabin of the airship watching a few old movies while our Dragons had lunch down in the Dragon Bay. We would be arriving at Prof. 'O'Hara Jr.'s place in two hours. I knew we were getting close, since I could already feel jet lag taking hold. I had to gulp down a full seven hour energy shot (since coffee puts me to sleep) just to stay awake. The rest of my fellow west coasters had to do likewise. Even Liam who had spent most of his life on the east coast had to gulp down large amounts of coffee.

We all disembarked at the University of Toronto on a large lawn with our Dragons. The Professor was there to greet us.

"Thank goodness the airship made it." He said walking over to us, "I just heard about more Mutant attacks. You must have been lucky."

"Didn't run into any Mutants." I said, "Is everything ready?" I asked wanting to get this done as soon as possible.

"Yes." Prof. 'O' Hara Jr. said nodding, He glanced at Toothless, "Ah, Toothless, I remember Dad telling me about you. He called you "Shadow" then…" He regained his senses, "right, follow me. Cecilia is helping my assistants Jumba and Pleakly set up the equipment."

"What kind of equipment?' Liam asked as we followed the professor to his lab.

"Infrared cameras, recording devices, EMF detectors, thermal cameras, paper, markers, candles, Cecilia's psychic materials…" Prof. 'O'Hara Jr. said rattling off a list of paranormal investigation equipment.

"Professor…" Liam said, "Why did all of us have to come? Wouldn't it be enough for just Toothless?"

"Well…Erika's the one who wanted to get in contact so she has to be there and it also helps to have others for séances too, at least, that's how it works best for Cecilia." The professor said scratching his chin.

Soon we were all in the lab-we had to use a loading door since the regular one was too small for our Dragons-except Scout but she was back in New Berk no doubt greeting guests at the Ranch. In the lab was a round table with several candles, paper and black markers set out on it. In the center was a bowl of meat stew with a hunk of crusty bread stuck in it. Just the aroma made my mouth water.

Mrs. 'O'Hara, a tall willowy woman was helping a large rotund young man in a white lab coat set up some bulky looking cameras. A skinny slightly older man with a nervous look about him was rushing about making sure the recording devices were working properly.

"Whoa…" Sean said, "This stuff looks expensive!"

"It sure is!" the larger man-Jumba-said, "This camera alone is about half my tuition fees plus my little pet project 626."

"626?" I asked.

"Oh, I;m trying to fidna way to reverse the mutations." Jumba said, "I've been working on what I think might have been a koala. So far I've somehow managed to get rid of the man-eating trait but he's still a little monster and blue."

We all moved towards the table Cecilia straightened up and greeted us.

"I'm glad to see you all get here safely." She said, "We'll begin soon as Pleakly makes sure everything's working properly." Pleakly scuttled about testing all the equipment muttering "testing…testing…".

"Why do we have to have all this equipment?" Jean asked, "In a séance don't we just need a psychic medium, a round table, candles, and enough people?"

Pleakly straightened up adjusting his glasses, "Well miss…we're performing this as a paranormal investigation so we're just following standard procedure, and it's also for our studies too." He checked a large complicated looking camera, "Everything;s all in order, we can begin anytime now!"

"Good." Mrs. 'O'Hara said, "Let's turn off all the lights." She started to light the candles while Jumba and Prof. 'O' Hara Jr. ran around turning off the lights while the rest of us sat down in the chairs around the table. Our Dragons were crouched behind us. I could feel some of Zephyr's nervousness wash over me. I reached up and patted her on the nose.

"It'll be okay Zeph." I said, "We're calling a nice ghost." The professor quickly got into their seats and Pleakly pulled out a desk lamp and set it down on the table.

"Before we begin, everyone, look at the lamp." Pleakly said turning it on and off, "Relax, breathe in, breathe out. Time your breathing with the frequency of the light….that's right…keep it up…" it went on for about five minutes until we were all totally relaxed. Jumba and Pleakly then took up their positions at the cameras and recording devices.

"Alright everyone," Mrs. 'O'Hara said, "Everyone hold hands and be ready to grab the pieces of paper in case Hiccup channels through one of us." We all joined hands, Ethan on my left and Jean on my right. Liam looked a little aggravated about having to sit next to Arthur. Mrs. 'O'Hara closed her eyes and began to speak.

"Our beloved Hiccup, we bring you gifts from life into death. Commune with us Hiccup and move among us." Mrs. 'O'Hara said. We waited for a few minutes, and nothing happened. Mrs. 'O' Hara began again, this time adding, "Your Dragon Toothless has grieved for you for the past millennia, please come among us and speak to us…"

Was it just me…or did it cold all of a sudden? I blinked and I thought I saw movement like someone just walked by! And I was getting that feeling you get when you're sure someone is with you in a dark room and you can't see them but you know they're there. Ethan shivered slightly. Greg looked like he was getting a little short of breath. Toothless' eyes widened, his ears pricked and he sniffed the air carefully.

_Something's happened alright…._I thought my eyes darting around.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, maybe some ghost appearing, a disembodied voice, tapping, ghostwriting, whatever…But what happened I knew I wasn't expecting.

Liam suddenly went rigid in his seat. He started shaking and he hunched over. Toothless snorted in alarm and nudged Liam in the back. Jumba's eyes widened and he beckoned to Pleakly and they both looked at the thermal camera and both looked shocked. They looked even more shocked when they looked at the other camera. All the other machines were going haywire! The EMF detector was blipping like crazy! And I was feeling a little lethargic…didn't ghosts suck the energy out of anyone near them and electrical appliances too?

"Let go!" Mrs. 'O' Hara said and we all released hands, but nothing happened. Liam slumped forwards onto the table shaking violently. This was getting scary! Then, slowly, Liam pushed himself up and blinked, but there was something different about him. I was sure I was looking at Liam, but he wasn't Liam…exactly…I leaned forwards and saw that his eyes had clouded over and now they were a very dark green, just like mine and Ethan's. He glanced around looking confused like he passed out and now just suddenly woke up here.

"Hvernig var ég að koma hingað?" Liam said but it wasn't Liam…_exactly_. For one thing he sounded completely different! A little more nasally and…dare I say it? Nerdy?

_What?_ I was totally speechless! I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying! But whatever it was it sounded vaguely Icelandic…I tried to run through my meager Icelandic vocabulary but the only phrase I could remember in my freaked out state was for "Where's the bathroom?".

Liam glanced around looking dazed. I glanced at Mrs. 'O'Hara and mouthed: "What's going on?" She looked just as confused and scared as the rest of us and shook her head and spread her hands out.

Liam glanced around at all of us as if trying to remember something. Toothless leaned forward slightly and gently nudged his Rider in the back of the head crooning worriedly. Liam started slightly then turned and nearly jumped out his seat!

"Tannlaus- hvað er að?"

Toothless snorted in shock and recoiled slightly. Liam stood up and reached out to Toothless gently stroking his muzzle. Immediately Toothless started to calm down but he still looked completely confused. Liam said something else I couldn't understand, but Toothless seemed to understand him. Liam looked back at us.

"Hverjir eru þessir menn?" he asked.

"What is going on here?" Sean moaned, "Why is Liam talking a different language?"

Liam turned to Sean looking a little annoyed, "Ég heiti ekki Liam! Ég heiti Hiksti!" clearly we were missing something that should've been pretty obvious. And he could understand _us_ be we couldn't understand _him_.

I had to say _something_. I stood up and cleared my throat.

"Uh…are you…Hiccup, Toothless' previous Rider?" I asked. I crossed my fingers under the table.

_…_I thought chanting out my silent mantra in my head. Liam-Hiccup turned to face me and when we made eye contact I knew I was looking at someone far older than me. He nodded looking like he recognized me or something…

"Hver ert þú?" he asked. Okay, I think he was asking who I was, so maybe I should introduce myself…

"My name is Erika Freya Haroldson." I said.

He said something else.

"I'm sorry…but we can't understand what you're saying." I said.

Hiccup looked a little stressed out, "Hvers vegna skilur þú mig ekki?"

"Uh…can you please speak English…or normally?" Sean asked, "We can't understand a word you're saying!"

_Now_ Hiccup looked _really_ annoyed he puffed out and shouted, "Ég er að tala venjulega!"

Ethan and I exchanged worried looks. Things weren't going the way I thought…how were we going to break contact? What if Hiccup _did_ get stuck in Liam? And speaking of Liam….what was going to happen to him!

"We-can't-understand-you!" Jean shouted at Hiccup looking a little frantic, "You're talking a completely different language!"

Hiccup stopped halfway through whatever he was about to say stunned. He tried to say something else, but then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he passed out cold, collapsing like an empty sack.

"LIAM!" I shouted nearly knocking Sean and Arthur over to get at him. Toothless caught him in time with his head and started to gently lower him to the ground. Both Arthur and I grabbed Liam's arms and slowly laid him down on the floor.

"Liam! Liam!" I shouted, "Liam can you hear me!" No response. Arthur snapped his fingers next to his ear as I placed my fingers to his neck. Thank God…there was a pulse…and his breathing was normal.

The lights came on.

"What happened!" Sean wailed completely freaked out. The rest dissolved into a babble I couldn't make out all my attention was on Liam.

What if he never woke up? Or suffered permanent psychological damage? He'd already been through enough with his mother abusing him? How could I have been so careless? This was all my fault…I felt tears prick my eyes and my vision blurred.

"I'm so sorry Liam…" I choked and I felt Arthur's arm around my shoulders.

"He'll be okay Erika…" He said, "He'll be okay…"

* * *

**Confusing? That was my intention. And maybe a little creeped out too? well, for this chapter I actaully went online to see how seances are performed, in this chappie its done like as part of a pararnormal investigation (oh and all you psychics and paranormal investigators out there, let me know if I messed up on something okay?) you have to be sitting down for this and have some candles and food becasue ghosts like warmth and light and you also have to have a round table and a psychich medium, now I read that kids can not be part of this, but Erika and her pals are about 17-18 so I think they're okay.**

**And thanks to Fjord Mustang for making sure all of Hiccup's dialouge was grammatically correct! *claps***

**Anyway, I will now reveal the identity of the fifth narrator for those who haven't figured it out yet: Hiccup Horrendus Haddock III! and he will eb narrating the next chapter.**

**Stay tuned for Chapter Eleven: Language Barriers**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	12. Chapter Eleven: Language Barriers

**Gaaaahhhh...This took a long time to type up...I but after getting the HTTYD DVD and watching it four times in a row, I'm confident that Hiccup didn't go too out of character. I was still trying to get his personality but also make him sound a little older (he was like 28 when he died in this fic).**

**Anyway...after having to type this chappie up twice I finally cna update! *dances***

**Standard Diclaimers apply (why can't there be an automatic disclaimer button?)**

**Read and Review or Toothless will grrr!**

**I**

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**Chapter Eleven: Language Barriers**

"Ooowwww….my head…" I held my head in one hand and pushed myself up with the other. Something seemed a little off, but whatever it was I couldn't put my finger on it…

What had happened? One minute I was just minding my own business in Valhalla, the next, some people down in Midgard wanted to talk to me, the next…I don't know…I was suddenly in this dimly lit room with several people and I could have sworn I saw Arim and Freya there too. Or maybe those two just looked like them…the girl said her name was Erika…but it had been really dark too so I don't know…But I was pretty sure I had seen Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut there…Or at least people who kinda looked like them. They all kept saying they couldn't understand what I was saying and to "speak normally" but I _was_! But I definitely knew Toothless was there in that room.

I gave my head shake to clear the dizziness and blinked to clear my vision. And when it did I froze. I looked at my hands but they weren't mine…What was going on? I looked at the hands back, front. On the palms were a strange spiral burn scar. I had gotten my fair share of burn scars from working in the forge and I still had several of the scars from fighting the Red Death, but these…I felt my face, cheeks, nose, something weird was going on here….

"Where am I?" I muttered glancing around the room. The walls were pale blue and on the walls were several pictures. But these pictures were done with such detail it was like a small moment in time had been perfectly preserved. I glanced around the room, aside from a dresser and a closet there was a large black boxy thing that looked like it was growing out of the wall on several long black vine like cords. On top of the black box was another box and on top of that was what I assumed was several thin books.

A loud roar from outside made me jump and I twisted around to look out the window. Outside was a large field and in it were several Night Furies! Most of them were very small only hatchlings.

_There's so many…_I thought…Then I started looking for Toothless. Where was he? I leapt out of bead fumbling for my prosthetic but it wasn't there, and I fell flat on my face.

"Great…" I grumbled getting up, "Now I have to hop around on one foot everywhere…" I picked myself up off the floor and…and…found that I had both feet.

Wait…both feet? That wasn't right! My left calf had been crushed in the fight against the Red Death. And I was also _very_ sure I was dead and made Einherjar. So…what the heck was going on! While I stood there trying to make sense of things-it was slightly difficult because around the time I died, I had gotten used to the prosthetic leg-now I would have to get used to a real leg all over again. I never catch a break do I? Someone spoke up on the other side of the door.

"…go check on Liam now, hope he's woken up by now!" a boy's voice said. I was sure it was Arim. The door opened and there he was! A little older but it was definitely him!

"Hey you're awake!"

"A-Arim!"

He looked over his shoulder. Agh…I didn't have time for Arim's jokes now (even though Astrid kept telling me he gets it from me).

"Arim I don't have time for this!" I snapped, "What's going on?"

Arim looked back at me looking confused, "Why are you calling me by my middle name?" he asked, "Are you feeling alright Liam?"

"I'm _not_ Liam! It's me Hiccup!" I said then paused, "Your dad!"

Arim looked at me as if I had gone completely insane. It was the exact same look Astrid gave me when she first found me with Toothless.

"Uhhh…I'm not Arim…My name is Ethan Arim Haroldson" the not Arim said, "My dad's name is Edmund Siegfried Haroldson. My twin sister's name is Erika Freya Haroldson. My mum's name is Alicia Chan-Haroldson." He said all this slowly as if making sure there would be no misunderstanding, "I think you just got me mixed up with someone else. And…are you feeling alight? You sound like you're coming down with a cold…"

An awkward silence followed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You probably don't remember," Ethan said, "You suddenly started talking Icelandic and we couldn't understand a thing you were saying-or rather…we couldn't understand what Hiccup was saying…You might have to ask Toothless. Erika and the rest of us were so freaked out. Erika and I couldn't remember our meager Icelandic vocabulary."

"I _am_ Hiccup!" I said-then stopped he had mentioned Toothless! "Wait…you said something about Toothless…is he alright?" Toothless had been left behind back on Midgard, made immortal or something…

"He's been trying to knock down the door for the past day and a half. We almost had to resort to smacking him in the face with an eel to get him to stop." Ethan said, "He's really worried and outsi-WHOA!"

I dashed past him and nearly crashed down the stairs in my rush. I barely paid attention to where I was going the only thing I could think was that I had to make sure Toothless was alright. I could figure out what was going on later.

I finally came to a doorway to outside and…_SMACK!_

"OW!" I shouted rubbing my nose-it hurt! And I was pretty sure I heard another "Ow!" somewhere from the back of my head. What did I run into? I reached up and tapped the area in front of me. A sharp _rap rap_ sounded as my fingers met something smooth and hard.

I heard Ethan catch up behind me.

"Are you okay?" he asked sounding worried, "Nose not broken?" he leaned forward and grasped a handle that seemed to be floating in mid air and slid it to the right, "Well…at least we know that the.." did he say "sly-ding glass door"? What was that? And how did the door slide? How was it built?

"I'm alright."I said still rubbing my nose and examining the door with interest before I remembered why I had come bolting downstairs. Toothless! I ran outside limping slightly, not entirely used to having an organic leg again. There were Night Furies _everywhere_ how was I going to find Toothless?

"Toothless!" I shouted glancing around and a familiar roar sounded from nearby I turned around, and was immediately enveloped in a pair of warm jet black wings. He was a little bigger than when I last saw him. Before I died. Toothless crooned relieved and nuzzled me gently with his large black head.

"I'm glad to see you too buddy…" I said scratching Toothless between the ears.

"_Liam…I'm so glad you're alright…"_

"T-Toothless? W-was that _you_?" I asked slightly stunned, I was sure that was Toothless! But why was I suddenly able to understand him? Was it an Einherjar perk? Toothless looked back at me just as surprised.

"_H-Hiccup?"_ Toothless gasped in total shock, _"Hiccup is that really…?"_ he trailed off.

"What's the matter don't recognize me?" I said half laughing.

"_Of course I do."_ Toothless said snorting slightly he nuzzled his head closer to me, _"I missed you so much…"_

"I know…" I said softly, "I missed you too…" and wrapped my arms around Toothless' thick neck burying my face in his neck. Toothless rested his head on my back purring softly. It had been so long since I died, I hoped that Toothless hadn't been too depressed, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if he had spent all those years depressed.

Speaking of that….

"Toothless….how did I get here?" I said lifting my head slightly.

"_You should ask Erika."_ Toothless said, _"She's the one who invited you."_ Toothless unfolded his wings from around me and when I turned around at first I thought I was looking at my female doppelganger. She could have been my twin sister! And she looked like an older version of Freya. Erika I guess…

"You're alright!" she shouted and then…she swung her fist at me! I yelped at jumped back dodging her, "THAT WAS FOR SCARING ME!" she shouted. She was giving me the exact same look Astrid had given me after I had woken up from my two week coma after defeating the Red Death.

Then Erika suddenly had me in a tight hug resting her head on my shoulder, "I'm so glad you're okay….I'm so sorry…" she sniffled, she was crying. I didn't know what else to do-I hugged her back. It felt exactly like whenever I held Freya after she had a bad dream or was upset about something.

But somewhere in the back of head I thought I sensed a slight thrill. Must have been my imagination. I pulled back and she wiped at her eyes and nose which had turned slightly red.

"Are you alright now?" I asked. Erika nodded.

"You're feeling okay too Liam?" she asked.

"I'm not Liam!" I said, "It's me Hiccup!" Erika looked at me surprised then confused.

"Wait…why can we understand you now?" she asked, "We couldn't understand a word of what you were saying…well I was able to tell when you were asking who I was….but everything else…"

"Wait…you're…Hiccup?" Ethan asked from somewhere to my left. I turned to face him and nodded, "As in…The First Rider?" First Rider? Were they referring to me?

"Well…my full name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III." I said.

"Isn't that a kind of fish?" Erika blurted out.

Something told me things were going to get a little difficult….Just understanding what everyone was saying was difficult….at least I could understand Toothless. He could always translate. But I was able to understand that this place was a Night Fury Ranch. Erika and Ethan said that they bred Night Furies here. I didn't know how many Night Furies there were back when I was alive but now they said that there were roughly several thousand worldwide.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you must be hungry." Erika said, "And you might want to get dressed, can't go running around in your pajamas. We'll fill you in on everything else later."

"Pa…what?" But I looked down and for the first time saw what I was wearing. A loose pale green short sleeved tunic and sleep trousers-though how they stayed up without a belt was beyond me. Maybe I could dismantle it later to find out.

"After you get changed you'd better get something to eat." Erika said, "You were out for almost two days. You must be starving. Mum's making some soup."

Five minutes later I was back in what I guessed was going to be "my room". I wanted to ask what all the strange box like objects were but Ethan said it had to wait until I had something to eat. Okay, he had a point. I was so hungry I couldn't think straight and it would be nice to have something else other than the Sæhrímnir. As good as it tasted and everyday it was prepared differently (though we did have other things in Valhalla especially since we started getting vegetarians) I was glad for a change.

And I also had to figure out how to get back to Valhalla. I was no longer part of Midgard. And as Einherjar, I also had to help prepare for Ragnorak. But for now, I think I could just try and get used to this place, where ever I was. Ten minutes later I went downstairs fully dressed. Erika poked her head out a door and stepped out.

"Kitchen's over here and…" she trailed off, "Why are you wearing festival clothes?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, "This is what I always wear."

Erika scratched her head clearly trying to find the right words, "Well…We only dress like that during the Thor's Day Thursday Festival and on Halloween if we can't get a different costume."

"Hallow-what?" I asked.

"I'll…explain later…" She said, "Sort of an excuse to dress up in a crazy costume and pig out on candy. Last day of October."

Did she mean Samhain? We both went into the kitchen and I could only recognize two of the smells, melting cheese (though how they got it yellow I don't know…) and warm bread, but the other…I couldn't name.

Erika said something that sounded like "tom-ate-o" then "soup".

"…and grilled cheese sandwiches." Erika finished. How did you grill cheese? What was "tom-ate-o" soup? What were "tom-ate-os"? And what were all those boxy things against the wall? I had so many questions I couldn't say them all at once, if only I had my notebook with me! I was probably standing there in a bit of a daze and the next thing I knew Erika jerked me over to the table.

"After you have something to eat, you'd better get changed." Erika said, "Trust me you don't want to go walking around in festival clothes right now."

I just took her word for it. The clothes were a little similar to what I had worn back in Berk, but also completely different. Okay, now I was properly dressed, now where was I? And more importantly _how_ had I gotten here?

"Okay…I guess we'd better explain." Erika said after asking, "We'll go outside, anyway, you and Toothless have _a lot_ of catching up to do. Poor guy's been on a thousand year bummer…"

Oh no…

"Where am I anyway?" I asked and feeling horrible, Toothless _had_ been depressed that whole time…

"New Berk, British Columbia, Canada." Erika said opening the sliding door. She belted it out like Dad did when giving battle commands.

"What?" I said.

"You would've known "Canada" as "Vinland"." Erika said after moment's pause.

"Oh!" I said remembering, "But I thought settlement didn't work…here…" I said.

"Other people came and settled Canada." Erika said, "The Normans after they took over most of Western Europe. A lot's changed since your time." She said. She said "Your time" like she was deliberately avoiding the phrase, "you died".

_Then _I noticed she had said "New Berk". But…this wasn't Berk…at least not the Berk I remembered.

"If this is New Berk…" I said slowly, "What happened to Berk?" One look at her and I knew I had treaded onto a sensitive subject. Erika gulped and scratched the back of her head looking stressed out.

"I…I don't know how to say this Hiccup…" She said choosing her words very, very carefully, "It was about forty years ago…Berk…um…Old Berk…the whole town was attacked by Red Deaths and Mutants. Everyone had to evacuate with just the clothes on their backs, it's all in shambles now and crawling with monsters, no one can live there anymore."

I almost lost all feeling in my knees as lightheadedness washed over me. I swayed slightly on the spot and had to lean against the wall for support. Berk was…gone…My eyes burned at the thought that the place I called home had been destroyed.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Erika asked sounding worried. I gulped, rubbed my eyes with the cuff of the green jacket I was wearing and nodded.

"I…I j-just need some time with Toothless." I choked out. Erika nodded.

A few minutes later I was outside in the "Dragon Pastures" with Toothless gently petting his nose. It had been so long…And Toothless had been all alone during that time.

"_I'm so sorry…"_ Was the first thing Toothless said crooning sadly and being a little more affectionate than he usually was.

"It wasn't your fault." I said scratching Toothless' nose, "I couldn't just let that maniac kill you. Besides, you were always rescuing me." Toothless let out a mournful wail and wrapped a large protective wing around me.

"Toothless…"I said, "You…you really weren't depressed all that time were you?"

Toothless moaned softly. I was afraid of that…I wrapped my arms around Toorhless' neck resting my head against his shoulder. I didn't want that for him. And from what Toothless was feeling he had never been able to move on after I died at least…until he met someone who looked like me…

"…Liam?" I asked after Toothless was done, "Toothless…he wasn't the first one was he?" I was sure that others had approached Toothless asking to be his Rider.

"_No…he wasn't…"_ Toothless said sheepishly, _"There were others…But I turned them all away…"_

"Toothless!" I groaned, "Why? I wouldn't have minded!" I knew what this had to be about, "You didn't want the same thing happening to them didn't you?" Toothless nodded sadly.

"_Hiccup…"_ Toothless said, _"I…I did accept a new Rider…um…Liam…"_

"Who is this Liam anyway?" I asked. Toothless snorted looking like he was trying to figure out how to explain something very complicated.

"Toothless?" I asked.

"_This is going to sound really really crazy…"_ Toothless said, _"But…you're in Liam's body right now."_

I gaped at Toothless in total shock and at the same time things started to clunk into place. Maybe that was why I felt so…off.

Toothless then went on to explain that this Liam actually was going to try and bring me back to life and to keep him from doing anything crazy he had accepted Liam as his Rider. I still wished that he had been able to accept at least one of the others who came forward…then Toothless wouldn't have had to have been so depressed that long…Then Erika decided that that they should still try to contact me.

So she was who was shouting: "Excuse us Hiccup? We would like to have a little chat with you could you possibly spare a few minutes?" Toothless _then_ said that Erika and Ethan were my descendents! Okay…I was sure taking in a lot today…

"…_And now we're not sure how it happened…but you got stuck in Liam."_ Toothless finished.

"Well…whatever happened," I said, "At least you're not sad anymore." As long as Toothless was happy, everything was alright. All I wanted to know was why Liam would resort to trying to do something so insane.

And how was I going to get out of Liam? That was going to be priority number one for now. Not only was this really unfair for Liam, I also had to get back to Valhalla. I tried to imagine "walking" out of Liam but no luck. I was stuck!

_Sorry Liam…but it looks like we're gonna have to share for a while…_

"Hey are you feeling any better now?' Erika asked.

"Huh?" I turned around to face her, "Yeah, thanks."

"Do you want to come inside or…" Erika asked trailing off.

"Yeah, I will." I said, "Toothless already explained everything to me. I don't why…but I can understand him now…"

Erika thought for a moment, and I almost laughed, that was the exact same look I got whenever I was thinking.

"I think it's because Liam can understand Night Furies, The ability's entirely…" what she said next I didn't quite understand it sounded like…"Bio-loj-ikle".

"What?" I asked.

"Uuuhhhhhhh….never mind…" Erika said, "Come on, let's get inside before Ethan gets too impatient."

We both went inside and into this room filled with more weird boxy things. On one of them was…I wasn't sure if I was just seeing things but what at first I thought was picture was moving! And there was sound coming from it too!

"Whoa!" I gasped amazed, "What is that?" I asked pointing to the mysterious object, "How are all those pictures moving? How does sound come out of it? Are there people in there?" I _had_ to get a closer look. I got really close to it and crouched trying to figure out how it worked.

Ethan and Erika started laughing from behind me.

"Hey you don't want to get too close your eyes will go bad." Erika said between laughs, "It's called a…" what she said sounded like "tee-vee", "And no, there are no people in there."

I turned to face Erika and Ethan, "But…how can we hear those people?" I had so many questions I thought my head was going to explode. Then I noticed another device.

"Hey what's this?" I asked. I must have acting like a five year old with a new toy, but there were just so many amazing things in the room! I just _had_ to know how these things worked! I don't know how long I spent running around the house pointing to something and asking, "What's this?" and "How does it work?"

Erika and Ethan did their best to explain how these contraptions worked in a way I would understand.

A stove, that was used for cooking and also the oven and it depended on what you were cooking that required either the stove or oven or sometimes both.

A sink, if only we had these back in Berk. Water in the house? How amazing was that? Though I wasn't too sure about a toilet in the house at least until Erika tried to explain plumbing to me. It was how water got around, in things called "pipes".

A computer, these people could do almost anything on these things. Draw, write (Or type as Ethan indicated), almost everything. I couldn't wait to try one of these things out. Especially the ones they used to play games on. I was particularly keen on trying out this one called _Valkyrie Profile_. I actually recognized the names of most of the characters.

Cameras. So those weren't drawings I saw in that room, those were called "Fo-toe-grrr-afs"? Ethan tried not to laugh while I was struggling with the language-English. From what Erika and Ethan said, these things were able to use light to make a copy of whatever you could see and then put it out on paper with this thing called a "printer".

There was so much to take in I thought my head was going to explode! It was already starting to hurt from the information intake-that had never happened before. If I could just at least write this stuff down, maybe my head wouldn't explode.

"…and that's how the phone works." Erika said then let out a gasp of "whew!".

I was having a serious information overload I glanced around for some paper (Since they said parchment usage stopped a long time ago) and a pencil. I had to get this stuff written down.

"Do…do you have anything I can write on?" I asked glancing around.

"Oh yeah, we have tons of blank sketchbooks." Erika said, "I'll go get one from storage and some pencils."

Ten minutes later she was back with a blank sketchbook and a small case of pencils.

"I really only need one pencil…" I said taking out one of them and examining it.

"Actually you might need all of them," Ethan said, "Some of them are made from charcoal, but that smudges really easily, these…" he pointed to the one I was holding, "These are made from graphite, it doesn't smudge as easily."

"I might use charcoal." I said, "I'm used to it. But I think I might try this one out…"

I spent most of the rest of day getting everything I had just learned down on some paper. By the time I was done half the sketchbook was full with drawings and notes and I had a very sore arm.

"Oiii!" Erika shouted from the next room, "Dinner's ready!"

"Okay!" I shouted and put the sketchbook down on the table rubbing my shoulder and walked into the kitchen. The smell was hard to describe…sweet, savory, and sour all at the same time. What was on the plates was even stranger. It looked like…intestines….

"We're having pad…" what she said next sound like "tie", "It's a noodle dish."

"Noodles?" I asked.

"Just try it." Ethan said, "You'll like it,"

I sat down at the table and there was also a dark haired woman and an older man who I guessed was Erika and Ethan's grandpa.

"Good to see you awake Liam." The woman said, "We were really worried when you all got back from Toronto. You'd better eat up."

I was about to say that my name wasn't Liam but stopped at the look from Erika and Ethan. Instead I just nodded and picked up what looked like a miniature pitch fork and started to eat.

I thought my tongue exploded! I dropped the fork and clamped both hands over my mouth and let out a strangled, "GRRRRPLLLFGFFF!"

"Are you okay Liam?" the woman asked, "It's not too spicy is it?"

"NNnnngggnnghhh…" Was all I could manage to say. My eyes were streaming and I broke into a sweat. I never ate anything like _this_ before. Well, there had been the time when I got a little too experimental with black pepper and cinnamon-that had tasted a little strange but it didn't feel like someone had started a fire in my mouth!

Erika quickly thrust a glass of white liquid at me and I quickly downed the content. After I was done my tongue wasn't hurting as much thank the gods…

"Mum how much red pepper did you put in?' Erika asked.

"Not that much unless…" she looked at a red bottle with a green nozzle suspiciously then at Ethan.

"ETHAN!" she shouted.

Ethan jumped and tried to look innocent. And he was doing a really bad job of it.

"Wh-whut?" he bleated his cheeks flushing red.

"How much…" did she say "Sir Ree-Sha"? –"Sauce did you put in Liam's noodles!"

"Not that much…" Ethan said looking away.

"Then why is the bottle half empty!"

"You know I like that sauce…I didn't put_ that_ much in!"

"Ethan!"

Erika looked like she was ready to strangle Ethan and I probably would've helped if it weren't for the fact she and Ethan looked almost exactly like Arim and Freya. Still…that didn't mean I could get even…

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**Hahaha, Looks like Hiccup's going have a bit of a bumpy ride acclimating to the 21st century but it looks like he's having fun. how'd you like hsi reaction to the TV? I had fun writing that.**

**As for why Hiccup is also able to understand Toothless, it;s becasue Liam can. His ability to understand Night Furies is as Erika said completely biological. it has something to do with his brain chemistry.**

**Anyways...stay on the look out for Chapter Twelve: Toothless Gets Drunk**

**and on my YouTube Account (Chocobo0Scribe) I'll soon be posting an audio excerpt of Promises from the first Erika chapter and if anyone is interested in narrating please let me know! (I don't think I could ever impersonate Hiccup's voice...)**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	13. Chapter Twelve: Toothless Gets Drunk

***yawns* hello all! and Happy Halloween! *dances in Toothless costume* You've been waiting and now I've updated! Please enjoy! I hope nothing soudns too weird i normally dont post at one on the morning after struggeling with adobe homework for seven hours straight with no break. XP**

**Standard diclaimers apply Read and Review or Toothless will GRRR!**

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**Chapter Twelve; Toothless Gets Drunk**

Okay I know what you're going to say.

"Ethan you shouldn't have put so much siricha sauce in Hiccup's pad thai!"

There…HAH! I heard you! Well…I got grounded with no T.V., computer, and video games for the rest of the month and a punch to the nose from Erika. Hiccup didn't do anything…which actually has me worried…

I couldn't help myself! I can only go so long without pulling a prank! And I just like seeing people's reactions to too much hot sauce!

I didn't get much sleep that night. I kept hearing what sounded like construction work coming from the next room. I woke up the next day with a throbbing headache. No one was in the kitchen so I just downed a few Tylonol with some water and got some cereal. I think Chief was going to have us go up against a few Mutants in the ring today so I decided to get some last minute training in outside. I got my gun and started to head for a small paddock where Erika and I train outside lessons.

But when I passed the tree…

"AAAAAAUUUGGGHHHHH!" I was suddenly flat on my back then dragged upward and then dangling upside down by the ankle from the tree branch! I didn't just walk into one of my own booby traps did I?

Wait a second…this didn't have anything to do with all that noise I heard last night did it?

I twisted around trying to get down but the loop around my ankle was good and tight. I tried to lean up to untie myself but apparently whoever set this up had thought of that and deliberately made it so that way someone would have to cut me loose. But I knew how to get out of those, it wasn't easy…

"Okay…I don't know if you walked into one of your own traps or if someone else set it up but you deserved it." Erika said form somewhere outside my vision.

"SIIIISSSS!" I wailed, "Get me down from here!"

"Heh…if I tried, I'd probably set off another booby trap or something. That thing looks loaded." Erika said, "Besides, it's been way too long since someone pulled a prank on _you_. I'm off to training. See ya."

"ERIKA!" I squirmed around trying to get down as I heard her retreating footsteps. I managed to twist around to see her wearing her flight harness walking away joining Zephyr and jumped on and in a rush of wind both flew away. I grumbled blowing my bangs from my face and leaned back up again and this time managed to get my ankle untied.

Only to get caught up in a net.

"_AW COME ON!"_ I groaned. First getting dangled upside down now a net? Who set this trap? Leonardo DaVinci? Or…

I should have guessed.

"Hiccup…I know you're there…" I said, "Can you get me down now?"

"No." Hiccup said stepping out from behind the tree also wearing a flight harness, "Why did you hawe to put that stuff in my food?"

I flushed bright red from embarrassment, "I can only go so long without playing a prank on someone…" LAME excuse alert, "Hiccup _please _let me down. If I'm late for training Chief will make me run a hundred laps! I'll be half dead by the time I hit forty!" Hiccup actually looked slightly amused at this. Okay, this was undeniable proof we were related. Erika must get her sense of humor from him.

"That's quite a predicament you're in there lad." I turned as best I could in the net to face Drakke. He was clearly struggling not to start laughing.

"Drakke thank God," I said, "Please get me out of here!"

Drakke shook his large head shaking with silent laughter, "No, I think this will do you some good. Besides, I think you, might have another trap or two to go through."And he flew off towards the south watchtower where Jee-San was situated.

I ended up being late for training and I had to run a hundred laps around the ring. By the time was done I was prone on the floor of the ring panting for air and drooling a bit.

"You are such an idiot Ethan…" Arthur said shaking his head, "It's about time someone pulled a prank on _you_."

"Sh-sh-shut up…" I wheezed.

"I hope ye kiddies had a good night sleep." Chief said as I heard the metallic footsteps of his bionic leg, "We're goin' up against some of the beasties yell come up against during yer adventures." Chief just says that for no particular reason.

I stood up as Chief started walking past some of the cages were Mutants for practice fights were sometimes kept temporarily.

"The Raptor."

"Speed 23, armor 12, venom 4." Fred said breathlessly.

_On no he's at it again…_ I thought. Everyone else bent over slightly to face Fred. Hiccup looked a little confused and I ehard him say to Erika, "I think I've hearrd this beforre."

"The Wind Viper."

"Speed 35, Evasion 28."

"The Skullion." There was a sharp intake of breath from Erika.

"Attack 32, armo-."

"WOULD YE SHUT UP LAD!" Chief shouted completely losing it he took a deep breath then said, "Today you'll be going up against the Scorplion. And don' ye kiddies worry, Prof. 'O' Hara's Assistants managed to get us some Mutants without the man eating trait so no one's gonna end up becoming lunch. Awricht, get ready in the locker rooms and we'll start trainin'!"

The girls headed for their locker room and we the guys headed for ours. I sure hoped that Hiccup didn't go for the Caliber Max machine gun…that thing is heavy and is really only used by professionals who also have some decent upper body strength. But Hiccup didn't strike me as stupid…I mean he must be like the Viking equivalent of Leonardo Da Vinci if he could set up a booby trap that dangled you upside down, caught you in a net, and then dumped you into a pit.

"Does S….S…sjehf…" Hiccup was struggling to say Geof's name and he had a pretty pronounced Icelandic sounding accent, and normally Erika and I can't hear one because we're so used to our Grandpa's Icelandic accent and our Dad and Uncle picked up on a slight accent too mixed with a British Columbian one. Even folks from outside British Columbia say Erika and I have a bit of an Icelandic accent too.

"We call him 'Chief' I said, "If that's easier for you just call him by that.

"Chief…" Hiccup said but he said the "Ch" part like in "loch".

It's a good thing Icelandic hadn't changed too much since the Vikings settled there…I was getting the feeling Grandpa might have to translate but Erika had said we should keep this quiet. But that the rest of the guys should know since they were at the séance. I was sure Erika had good reason, if anyone got wind that The First Rider was here in New Berk, the paparazzi would be all over Hiccup and Liam. That was assuming anyone would believe it.

And speaking of Liam…was he going to be okay? How were we going to get him back? Was there any way for him and Hiccup to switch? Like in _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ Or something?

"What are all these things?" Hiccup said looking at the racks of guns, "how do they work?"

"Those are all the guns." Arthur said, "And…don't go for the Caliber Max again Liam…Not after you nearly ripped your shoulder open."

"Huh?" Hiccup looked at Arthur confused.

I quickly ran over to intervene, "Ahh…I'll explain later Arthur, and to rest of us at the Ski Shak." Arthur looked just as confused as Hiccup but he seemed to get what I was getting at and nodded. I turned to Liam's locker and pulled out his sword.

"Here," I said, "A weapon you might actually recognize." I hit the switch and the blade extended out.

"A sword?" Hiccup asked then he got the bright look in his eyes when he was running around the house totally amazed at the wonders of the 21st century, "You still use them? But…how does it extend and retract? And Why does it only have one edge? Wouldn't that make fighting harder? Or is it easier for the blade to retract and extend if it only has a single edge?"

I was completely overwhelmed at how he belted his questions out like a quarterback giving out a play. And I said something _really_ intelligent.

"Ahhh..?"

Hiccup took the sword and after stepping back a safe distance swung it around experimentally. He was actually really good.

"Good balance…" He said examining the sword with interest, "This should be interesting…"

"Okay, now we need to get our combat gear on." Sean said, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm really not in the mood for getting poison burns."

"Oh really?" Greg taunted, "I think I might want to get one or two burns-nothing major, just enough to tell a good story."

"You _are_ crazy Greg." I said. From the corner of my vision Hiccup was looking like he had seen this before and mouthed what I was sure was "Tuffnut".

Well, I guess slight insanity is what you get from being the decedents of tradition breaking Vikings. I pulled on my helmet and visor and my bullet proof vest. Scroplions aren't too tough but they can get really nasty oh and to top it all, bullets and ricochet easily in the ring. I still have the scar when a bullet grazed my forehead when Chief had us go up against Wargs, mutated wolves. One reason why I always wear a Ninja headband, to cover the scar up and to protect my forehead.

"Do you always go up against monsters?" Hiccup asked while trying to figure out how to put his bullet proof vest on.

"Not all the time." I said, "for one thing, Chief has to get Mutants that won't make it priority number one to eat us and Prof. 'O' Hara and his assistants are still trying to figure out how to get rid of the man eating thing so we normally don't go up against Mutants in the ring."

"Then…how do you get experience?"

"Oh we get almost every week by Mutants." Sean said conking his gun making sure it wouldn't jam on him, "So we've gotten plenty of practice."

After we all got our gear on-Sean and I had to help Hiccup get his gear on, we all headed back out into the ring to join the girls. Chief was at the cage door ready to let loose the Scorplion.

"Ready kiddies?" Chief said.

Erika conked her gun ready to blast some Mutants, "We're ready Chief!"

Chief pressed a switch and with a loud bang the Scorplion burst out its scorpion tail waving threateningly at us. Our initial reaction? Getting some distance between us and the Mutant.

"Today is all 'bout _teamwork!_" Chief shouted from the sidelines, "Yer all a team so ye've got to keep eachother's backs! Fight like yer lives depend on it cause it will! Especially if ye've been separated from yer Dragons."

We were all scrambling around the rings being chased by the Scorplion and being watched by the younger cadets. The thought only just came to me but I was suddenly wondering why Chief was going to let Hiccup into an advanced class, I mean…_Liam_ had only just started. Maybe it had something to do with him crossing the Rockies on foot?

"ETHAN! Look out!" Arthur shouted. I snapped out of my zone out and yelped and dived narrowly avoiding the scorpion tail.

Damn this ADHD…One idea pops into my head and I completely forget everything else…

I rolled took aim and fired at the Scorplion. We were using rubber bullets but they can still really hurt and if you get hit in the wrong place, they can kill you so eye protection for the win. The Scorplion roared at me and dashed at me I readied my gun again to bash the beastie upside the head but before I got a chance Sean nailed it with a good kick to the jaw.

That wasn't the best idea. The Scorplion got a good grip on the laces of his boot and started running around dragging Sean around the ring.

"AAAAAUUUUGHH!" Sean shouted, "A LITTLE HELP GUYS!" We all were chasing the Scorplion around the ring. Hiccup at the front, poor Fred bringing up the rear and then collapsed from sheer exhaustion ten minutes later.

Eventually, Sean's foot came out of his boot and I tripped over him.

The Scorplion now had taken an interest in Erika and Jean who were both peppering the Mutant with rubber bullets. Fred was shouting out its weak spots as he tried to rush over to help while Arthur got a very dazed Sean out of the danger zone. Hiccup and I rushed over me firing more rubber bullets to confuse the Scorplion and trying to ignore the shouting coming from the younger cadets.

The Scorplion lunged at Erika and Jean. Jean managed to get out of the way in time but Erika stumbled and fell right on her butt! We _both_ have this unlucky tendency to be complete klutzes sometimes…

"AAHH!" Erika yelped and started to scramble away from the Scorplion both Chief and I started to dash forward before things got out of hand.

Hiccup was faster than both of us.

With a full body tackle he and Erika barrel rolled out of danger. I jumped forward and beamed the Mutant over the head with a good whack from my Wyvern Shot. Those guns are really good for hitting monsters and people over the head with.

Erika and Hiccup stopped rolling several feet away. I jumped back to get away from the Scorplion's stinger and to make sure they were okay.

Hiccup sprang up looking around really confused.

"What happened? How did we get back to New Berk so fast?" But it was Liam talking! I almost dropped my gun in shock!

"L-Liam!" Erika gasped, "Liam is that you?"

Liam turned to face Erika then noticed he was almost on top of her and with a hair raising yelp leapt back face beet red.

What had just happened? Did a blow to the head cause Liam and Hiccup to switch or something? And now that I was looking, I noticed that his eyes had changed back to light green. I ran over to them Erika stood up looking just as confused as I was. Arthur and Greg actually were gaping open mouth.

"What is going on?" Arthur asked, "A few seconds ago you sounded all nasally and had a really strong Icelandic accent now…you're….you…again?"

This was _not _going to be easy to explain.

"Erika and I will explain later-after training." I said as soon as I could.

"We're in training!" Liam bleated. Then he saw the Scorplion, "What is that Scorplion doing here! Is Chief trying to get us killed!"

Toothless whined from outside the ring he had definitely sensed something strange was going on here and now was going to do whatever he had to get to Liam.

"Where's Toothless!" Liam yelped. He was completely freaking out! I'd better be the hero here and get him out of the ring before total panic set in. But Erika had a different idea. She gave Liam a head slap; the _NCIS_ head slap to be really specific.

"OW!" Liam shouted as his eyes flickered and changed to dark green and Hiccup came out again.

"Whoa…that was weird…" Hiccup said giving his head a shake. He immediately snapped back into action.

No way…

We could get Liam and Hiccup to switch by giving him the _NCIS_ head slap? Hopefully he could do it himself. I had a feeling that Toothless wouldn't take to kindly to having people head slapping his Rider.

Erika got this look in her eyes and she gave several consecutive head slaps until Hiccup finally lost it.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT!" Hiccup shouted flapping his arms around his head trying to ward off any more head slaps. Toothless was gaping at Erika in total shock. He was used to our weird behavior but this _had_ to be _way_ below the belt.

Trust me a dumbfounded Dragon is quite a sight to see. It almost never happens.

The rest of the training session went by pretty fast. We fired bullets and Hiccup got a few swings in with Liam's sword. Half an hour later the Scorplion was being herded into one of the cages to rest up for another training session.

"Good gel good gel…" Chief said after the Scorplion, "Get some rest and be ready to train up s'more cadets in a few days." He turned to face us, "You'll be facing another Mutant t'morow kiddies, we'll be going up against the Raptor tomorrow and ye'll have yer Dragons so don ye worry."

We all left the ring and were all greeted by our very worried Dragons. Jet had to make sure I was 200% alright. I think Jet and Zephyr must have picked up the "worry-wart" gene from Toothless.

"Ah! Jet I'm fine really!" I said laughing as Jet sniffed me for any injuries, "stop it you worry wart!" Jet snorted slightly annoyed.

Soon as I was free I walked over to Erika.

"Why were you giving him so many head slaps?" I asked, "You really pissed Hiccup off."

Erika blushed slightly looking totally embarrassed.

"Is this our impulsiveness talking again?" I asked crossing my arms. Erika scratched the back of her head and nodded.

"I just had to see if the _NCIS_ head slap really was how we could get Hiccup and Liam to switch."

That's how we both were. Once an idea pops into our heads we just have to try it out the consequences be damned. Though…that was how Erika ended up really hating Skullions…

We soon were on our way to the Ski Shak, it was already decked out as a haunted castle for Halloween. Some people were coming in and out and Dragons were getting a drink from the water fountain outside. And near the fountain were some guys in plumber uniforms.

"Looks like the pipes are getting fixed." Arthur said, "I think I heard something about the bar in back that the beer and spirits taps needed fixing…"

"What's this place?" Hiccup asked.

"This is the Ski Shak." I said, "It's a sort of hang out place for us. They also sell ski and camping equipment here and then there's a café on the top floor and a bar on the ground floor."

"Barr? Kaff-hay?" Hiccup asked.

"Place where you can get something to eat and a bar is where the grown-ups get a drink. We can't go in there because we're all under age."

"What? We can't get a drink?" Hiccup asked.

"Well…we can't get an _alcoholic_ drink. There's a drinking age and all…" Erika said, "It's kind of hard to explain…"

"Come on." Greg said impatiently, "I'm hungry."

It took us a little longer than usual to get to the café because Hiccup had to check out just about everything in the ski and camp shops and Arthur and Sean had to frog march him away from the bar entrance much to the great amusement of the bouncer.

"Okay…" Erika said after we finally got our table, "Now we can eat…" we had spent the past hour listening to Hiccup go into mania mode over the ski equipment. Maybe we should just give him another head slap to get him back to being Liam. But I was pretty sure he'd just dodge or something. I mean, he managed to avoid getting slugged by Erika, and almost no one so far as I know has been able to do that.

And now we could finally explain to the others what had happened. Even though the Ski Shak is constantly crowded, it's the best place to have a conversation and not be overheard.

"Whoa wait…you mean Hiccup's ghost is stuck in Liam and the _NCIS_ head slap makes Hiccup and Liam switch?" Sean asked incredulously.

"OH! Oh! OH!" Fred said breathlessly, "That's almost like _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ Except no Millennium Puzzle and…"

"Yeah, we all know about that series." Greg said making the "Shut up" hand motion at Fred, "Let's stay on track here."

"What..?" Hiccup was completely lost. We tried to explain to rest of guys and hoped that they'd believe us. We then followed with some introductions, apparently it seemed that Hiccup had known some people that looked like us back in Old Berk.

"So what do you think of the 21st century?' Greg said to Hiccup.

"He was running around the house last night asking how everything worked." Erika said, "Kinda like how I get whenever I make some new gizmo."

Nani walked past and deposited a stack of menus on our table I grabbed two and handed one to Hiccup. He took it and looked at confused.

"What does it say?' he asked.

Oh…He can't read modern English…

"It's a menu." Arthur said, "You decide what you want to eat and then tell the server."

Hiccup quickly got the idea but Erika had to order for him since he couldn't read the menu. And the thought only just occurred to me but what was Hiccup going to think of the chips?

"What are these?" Hiccup asked holding a chip up for examination. He glanced down curiously at his plate of fish and chips.

"It's a chip." I said, "Fried potatoes."

"What?" Hiccup said blankly, "Fur….eyed? Poe…Tay…toes?"

Okay…I was sure he ate a lot of fish in Old Berk, but everything else was totally alien to him. I had always thought that potatoes originated from Ireland but later on found they were actually native to Peru and didn't get to Europe until the Spaniards arrived. Hiccup sure was in for quite a food experience. I sincerely hoped that Liam's metabolism was up to it. If we really were related, he'd try anything-except maybe Thai food after the siricha sauce prank-that was new to him.

"Just try it." Sean said squirting malt vinegar all over his own plate of fish and chips. Americans use nauseating amounts of tartar sauce, they should know that malt vinegar and ketchup is the proper way to eat fish and chips. Hiccup ate the chip then coughed.

"Salty…" he said.

I was pretty sure that lunch was going to show up somewhere in his notebook.

Two hours later we left Ski Shak and there was quite a commotion going on outside. A large crowd had gathered at the Dragon Fountain all murmuring. One of the spectators saw us and ran over to Hiccup.

"Thank God you're here." She said, "It's Toothless! He's acting really weird." She then grabbed Hiccup by the arm and yanked him forward with him yelping about what was wrong with Toothless.

The rest of us dashed forward and my jaw dropped right to the ground.

Either Toothless was totally hopped up on Dragon Nip (which would be odd because it doesn't grow in the Rockies) or…

"Is he _drunk_?" Erika asked looking like she was trying very hard not to laugh.

Toothless was squirming around on his back and slightly flushed in the face. He was making strange gurgling noise and then rolled over looking at Hiccup with unfocused eyes.

"Toothless…What? Toothless it's me!" Hiccup said-Toothless roared something out, "No I most certainly am _not_!"

I wasn't sure if it was stress or if it was a bump on the head I got in training but several minutes later Hiccup was talking in his native language again. Icelandic hadn't changed much since the Vikings first settled there so with mine and Erika's small Icelandic vocabulary taught to us by Dad and Grandpa we understood that Hiccup was trying to figure out how to get Toothless sober again. Apparently this had happened before.

Sean and Erika were the first to go over to help. Sean bent over the fountain, dipped his finer in and licked it then spat.

"The fountain's filled with tequila!" he said, "But how..?"

Arthur and I joined Sean at the fountain.

"Weren't the pipes being fixed in the bar?" I asked.

"Yeah…" Arthur said, "…Oh! Now I get it…the water and tequila pipes got mixed up!"

"What?" Erika and Hiccup said at the same time.

"The pipes were being fixed," Arthur said, "And the tequila and water pipes must have gotten mixed up so that water is coming out of the tequila tap and tequila is coming out of the water taps…"

Murmuring rose up from the crowd and grumbling as someone stomped off to get the plumbers.

"So…what do we do while we wait for Toothless to sober up?" Erika asked, "Isn't there a spot you scratch to make Dragons fall asleep? I keep forgetting where it is…"

"It's…rright…herre!" Hiccup scratched at a spot on the right side of Toothless' under jaw and…Nothing happened, "What..?" Hiccup said sounding stressed out and then reverted to muttering in Norse again.

"Here?" Erika guessed scratching at another spot. Zip. Soon all of us were trying to find Toothless' sweet spot while Fred ran to go get an anatomy diagram on Night Furies. It didn't help that Toothless was so _big_.

Toothless clearly was enjoying all the scratching and just laid on his back purring and Hiccup would bleat out a "Toothless!" and flush bright red which made the rest of us think that Toothless had said something rather bawdy. I decided not to ask for translation.

"Maybe we need Liam to figure this out." Erika said and promptly gave Hiccup another _NCIS_ head slap.

"OW!" His eyes flickered and changed back to light green. Liam was back. He blinked and shook his head.

"What happened?" he asked, "It was like I was having an out of body experience…" Then he looked down at Toothless.

"TOOTHLESS!" he yelped then leaned over the inebriated Dragon trying to get a response out of him, "Toothless are you okay! Can you hear me?" Toothless groaned.

"He's totally drunk." Erika said, "We were trying to find that spot that makes Dragons fall asleep when you scratch it. So he could sleep it off."

Loud snoring sounded from Toothless. Well…that solved one problem.

"I'm back!" Fred shouted waving the diagram over his head.

"Too late!" I said turning to face Fred, 'Toothless just passed out."

"What happened to him!" Liam bleated gently cradling Toothless' head in his arms.

"The water and tequila pipes got mixed up and now the fountain where the Dragons can get some water is full of tequila." Sean said kneading the bridge of his nose.

"I'll have Grandpa bring the truck over or maybe Drakke can help us get Toothless back home." I said.

"Poor Toothless…" Arthur said, "He is going to have on hell of a headache when he comes too…Good thing Liam's bond with Toothless hadn't gotten near the emotional link yet otherwise both would be miserable tomorrow!

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**No you didn't misread anything here, the _NCIS_ head slap will be how our heroes get Liam and Hiccup to switch. I wanted it to be something pretty funny and becasue I like _NCIS_.**

**I'm also trying to slip in versions of HTTYD scenes and Lilo and Stitch refernces too, the next set will be Geof's pwn set of boneknapper ancedotes and Night Fury Stitch causing some slight chaos int hr Ski Shak Cafe.**

**Anyway stay tuned for CHapter Thirteen: The Zombies Come to Town**

**from here on out, the story will take a more serious turn and delve into the main plot now that all our heroes have been introduced. **

**Chocobo Scribe**


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Zombies Come To Town

**Hello all! I hope you're ready for some action this time around, starting with this chapter, things will start to get more serious as we delve deeper into the plot. well, no more ramblings now. Read and Review or Toothless will GRRR!**

**Standard Disclaimers Apply...(Why can;t there be a button for this?)**

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**Chapter Thirteen: The Zombies Come to Town**

I don't know what I found more disturbing.

Having an out of body experience, finding out that I now have to share my body with an eleven-hundred year old ghost-though he was trying to find a way to get unstuck- or suddenly finding myself almost on top of Erika.

Between the séance and suddenly coming to in the ring is a huge blank. The most I could remember was the room temperature dropping suddenly and then hearing someone talking in the back of my mind and then…I must passed out or something, because the next thing I knew I was in the training ring apparently having barrel rolled with Erika and a Scorplion was charging right at us! Then Erika started giving me the _NCIS_ head slap and I didn't pass out or anything, I was still completely aware of what was going on but I just couldn't control my body. Someone else was.

Yeah, Hiccup and I are now sharing the same body right now. Slightly disturbing…And apparently the _NCIS_ head slap is how we can switch.

I had to get my thoughts together. And with Toothless totally drunk, flying was out of the question. Instead I went over to the Academy to work out. Maybe I could get some sword practice in with the kendo instructor.

The Dojo room was full of people practicing kicks, punches, every kind of martial art and a few were sparring against each other. The whole room was filled with the sounds of shouting, grunting, and fists and feet colliding with padded cushions or other people. I found a free instructor who had me change into a kendo hakama and armor. And while I was changing I wasn't sure if I was going insane but I was sure I could hear Hiccup belting out questions about the equipment from somewhere in the back of my head. It didn't help that he had an extremely strong Icelandic accent and whenever he got too excited he'd start talking in Norse!

_Aggghhh….Shut up! You're giving me a headache!_ I thought gritting my teeth.

"…_And what does….ahh…sorry…."_ I heard Hiccup say sheepishly.

Thank God I could just think my responses to Hiccup-then no one would think I was insane. There were a few people who thought I was mentally disturbed when I found out I could understand Night Furies. I pulled on the face mask and gloved and picked up a shinai sword and went out into the training area a little clumsily weighed down by the kendo equipment.

The trainer had me go up against an automated dummy. The dummy would shout out either "men"-"kote"-"dare"-or "do" depending on where it was going to bring down its shinai. I found out the hard way the "do" meant "head".

After a few hours of training with the dummy I went up against a few other cadets. I was soaked in sweat by the time I hobbled out back to the Haroldson Ranch still wearing the kendo hakama, I didn't want to stink up my normal clothes with sweat and besides I was going to take a shower anyway. I took the ski lifts back to the ranch and first went into the Dragon pastures, Toothless was still sleeping snoring peacefully. Drakke had managed to carry Toothless back here and now we were just letting Toothless sleep off the tequila. I squatted down next to Toothless and patted him gently on the head.

"You feeling alright buddy?" I said softly so I wouldn't wake him up. I scratched him between the ears. I still had that slight feeling of unreality that I was now Toothless' Rider. I mean with a capital "R". Well…I had only been his Rider for a few days maybe it would take a while longer for the reality of it to sink in properly.

Toothless rumbled softly and cracked open one eye.

"Didn't mean to wake you up Toothless." I said still scratching his head. Toothless let out a pained moan.

"_Aaauuuuugggghhhh…..My….head…."_ Toothless groaned scratching at his ears with a paw, _"Why is the ground still rocking?"_

He was having a hangover…

"I'll get you some water Toothless." I said "you need to stay hydrated." I stood up and got a large bowl from the shed and filled it up with some water and took it back to Toothless.

Toothless drank the water gratefully and it seemed to help with his headache but he probably wasn't going to be feeling like doing much for the rest of the day.

"Will you be okay for training tomorrow?" I asked.

"_I think so…"_ Toothless groaned looking at with slightly unfocused eyes.

I started scratching Toothless again, "Well…don't push yourself if you still feel sick tomorrow." I started to stand up to go inside but before I could fully stand, Toothless pushed me forwards towards him with his tail. I stumbled forwards and thudded against Toothless' side who curled himself around me and dropped a wing over me.

"_Don't….go…"_ Toothless groaned curling up tighter around me even laying his tail across my lap to keep me seated. I even felt one his large paws wrap around me pinning me in place.

"Uh…Toothless?" I said, "Can you let me up? I need to get washed up." Toothless let out a low whine and just tightened his paw around my middle. I tried to push Toothless' paw off but he was way too strong for me, "Toothless it's not like I'm gonna drown in the bathtub." Maybe I shouldn't have said that because Toothless let out a wail and tightened himself around me and I nearly had all the air squeezed out of me! His paws were HUGE!

_Hiccup, help me out here! What do I do?_

Silence for a few minutes. I got this feeling that Hiccup was just a stumped as I was. I was guessing that this had happened before and Hiccup had no better luck than me.

"_You might have to just wait it out."_ Hiccup said.

_Was Toothless always this overprotective?_ I asked. I sure hoped that Toothless wouldn't resort to following me everywhere.

"_He was."_ Hiccup said, _"After what happened to me, he isn't going to ever let you out of his sight now that you're his Rider."_

I felt my gut clench, I felt like I was intruding on Hiccup's turf. He must have gotten wind of what I was think because he added, _"I'm not mad or anything…To be honest I'm really glad that you became Toothless' Rider. Especially…after everything he's been through…"_ He must have been talking about the fact that Toothless had been mourning him for the past eleven hundred years. I started scratching Toothless' paw absentmindedly he was probably still drunk. I would just wait until he fell asleep.

And speaking of which I was starting to feel pretty sleepy too. Both from the training and the low thudding of Toothless' heart I yawned and settled back against Toothless' side between his shoulder and wing joint. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep…

Toothless' snoring woke me up. I jolted slightly banging my head on the wing membrane. Toothless grunted and curled up tighter around me still sound asleep. I smiled slightly and after making doubly sure that he was indeed sleeping soundly, I started to wriggle out from under Toothless' paw. After five tense minutes I was finally free from Toothless' protective grasp. I picked up my gym bag from the grass and before going inside I turned to the Terror-Scout who was perched on a fence post.

"Hey, if Toothless wakes up before I get back; tell him I just went inside to wash up." I said. Scout gurgled and affirmed by nodding her green head. I opened the door and went inside to the kitchen. Erika and Ethan were already in there at the kitchen table reading a cookbook.

"Ah managed to escape Toothless?" Erika asked looking up turning a page in the cookbook, "What do feel like eating tonight?"

"_Nothing…spicy…"_ I heard Hiccup say.

"Chicken sounds good." I said. Erika flipped the cookbook to the poultry section.

"Lessee…" Erika muttered leaning forwards over the cookbook on her knees on the chair, "I made chicken adobo recently…chicken mole…barbeque chicken…herbed roasted chicken…fried chicken…"

"How about this?" Ethan suggested, "We haven't made barbeque chicken pot pie for a long time!" I walked over to the table to look. Ethan was pointing to a photo of a casserole of shredded barbeque chicken covered in a crisscross of biscuit crust.

"You're right we haven't…" Erika said, "Okay! That's what I'm making for dinner tonight!"

"Okay, sounds great." I said, "I'll be taking a shower." and turned around to my room. I dropped my stuff off in there and then took a nice hot steamy shower. I came back out hair still wet and got dressed and headed back out into the kitchen. Erika was shredding up some chicken breast that she had seared on the stovetop and was filling the room with a very pleasant smell.

"Anything I can do?" I asked. Ethan dashed over with a box of pills.

"Give these to Toothless." He said, "He's starting to come to and he going to have one hell of a headache." I nodded and took the pills and hurried outside to Toothless' paddock.

"Toothless?" I said quietly crouching down next to him. The Night Fury groaned and scratched at his head with his left paw. He turned to face me blearily.

"_L-Liam..? Whuh…What happened?"_ Toothless warbled out, _"Lat thing I remember was drinking from the water fountain at the Ski Shak…then…then the rest is a big blur…"_

"The pipes got mixed up." I said, "And tequila started pouring into the water fountain. Here, Ethan told me to give you these pills." I read the directions on the box and shook out the appropriate number of pills. Toothless took a gulp of water then licked the pills from my hand. His tongue felt like a cross between a cat's and a dog's it really tickled!

I scratched Toothless between the ears as he settled down to sleep.

"Think you'll be alright for training tomorrow?" I asked.

"_I'll be fine…"_Toothless said resting his head in my lap, _"I just need something to eat and some sleep."_

"I'll get you some cod alright?" I said. Toothless crooned an affirmative and lifted his head off my lap. I stood up and dashed over to the cooler room where the fish was kept. After rummaging through several crates I finally found a good sized Icelandic Cod.

"_Oh good." _I heard Hiccup say, _"That's Toothless' favorite."_ I made my way back to Toothless' paddock after nearly tripping over several Night Fury hatchlings and having to fend one off who had leapt up onto my shoulder.

"Here ya go." I said crouching down in front of Toothless holding the fish out to him. Toothless lifted his large black head sniffing the fish then gently grasped it in his teeth and gulped it down in three chomps. Then he got to his feet and with a loud gagging sound…coughed up the fish tail…

….Right into my lap.

I fell back onto my butt staring at the fish tail. I looked back up at Toothless who was staring back at me expectantly. Wait a second…did he want me to…

I like sushi, I was even brave enough to eat the raw stuff but…a half digested fish tail that a Dragon had just coughed up? No. No way. There was no way I was going to eat this...

Toothless snorted slightly, he was giving me the _puppy eyes_! I sighed in defeat and picked up the fish tail from my lap lifting it to my mouth.

"AH! Gross! Liam you're not actually gonna eat that are you?" Erika said from somewhere behind me. I jumped slightly and leapt up to my feet still holding the fish.

"Toothless!" Erika said, "Why'd you cough up a fish into his lap? He'll just get sick of he eats that."

I turned back to Toothless, "_Why_ did you cough the fish up for me?" I asked. Toothless shuffled his wings slightly and mumbled something about how he had done it for Hiccup.

_He's serious? You actually ate regurgitated fish?_

"_I still can't quite believe I did…"_ Hiccup said.

_Hiccup, I have new respect for you._ I thought and took a bite out of the regurgitated fish.

It tasted _horrible_. I gagged and struggled to chew the fish without throwing up. Erika clamped both hands over her mouth looking a little green. With great effort, I swallowed the fish-but not before it was forced up from my stomach-I took another gulp and another to keep it down. I coughed and shuddered.

"Wow." Erika said, "Liam, you are living proof that boys are more impulsive than girls."

I didn't say anything; I was too busy trying to get the aftertaste of regurgitated fish out of my mouth. I couldn't quite believe I had just eaten regurgitated fish either. I spent the next hour and a half in the bathroom brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth out with several bottles of mouthwash.

I'd never be able to eat sushi again.

After that little appetizer (Or de-appetizer) Toothless had provided for me, I barely had any appetite for dinner. I could only manage a small serving barbeque chicken pot pie without feeling sick. I just hoped I wouldn't get worms or some strange parasite in my guts the next day.

The next day I was feeling terrible. The good news was it was just indigestion. The bad news, I ended up missing out on training and spent the rest of the day in a lot of abdominal pain. Oh yeah and to make things really complicated, because I had a stomach ache, that meant Hiccup had one too, making it _twice as bad_.

Both of us recovered three days later-on Halloween. By then Hiccup and I had worked out a deal. Since we were going to be stuck with each other for a while I suggested that he could take over for every other day. It seemed fair enough. And thankfully I found that I could get us to switch myself so there wouldn't be so many head slaps from the others.

It was after dinner Erika and I had just finished getting the plates in when the phone rang. Ethan picked up the phone to answer.

"Hello? Chief?" He nodded, "Uh huh…Uh huh…oh…Erika and Liam? South Tower? Okay I'll let them know. Later!" He hung up and turned to face us, "Chief just called, he asked you two to get to the South Tower right now." Erika put down the dish cloth and turned to face me. Looked like we'd be doing look out duty instead of passing out candy to trick or treaters.

"Duty calls." She said and left to get her jacket and harness. I quickly did the same. I pulled on my trek jacket and the harness. It was exactly like a zipline harness only it had more points of failure. The main part went on like a vest, then there were a few loops around the torso then you would stick your legs through two more loops, thankfully nothing went in between, that would be very uncomfortable for us guys…Four cords hung from my waist, those I would use to secure myself into the saddle using the electromagnets. After that I hooked on my sword and hand gun to my belt and left to join Erika in the Dragon Pastures. She was already on Zephyr and was waiting for me to get on Toothless so we could get to the South Tower. With some help from David I got the saddle on and then I swung up onto Toothless' saddle and after securing myself in we were off.

I still had some getting used to ahead of me. When Toothless took off I still felt like I had left my stomach and other intestines on the ground and for the first ten minutes I was feeling rather green. The up; down ;up; down; up; down rhythm of Toothless' flight only made me feel airsick until my stomach caught up with the rest of me. Soon as I recovered from takeoff Toothless put on a burst of speed and we caught up with Erika and Zephyr. I leaned forwards over Toothless' head to reduce air resistance. The South Tower came into view in a few minutes. I could also see a large Western Draconias Dragon perched on a landing pad next t the South Tower. That must be Drakke. Erika and I landed on the pad with a slight bump and our Dragons came to a running halt.

Drakke turned to face us when we landed and he talked!

"You must be Liam." Drakke said.

"You can talk!" I bleated.

Erika burst out laughing, "Oh yeah…I forgot to mention that…" she slid off Zephyr, "Western Draconians can manage Human speech. They have the right anatomy or something."

Drakke lowered his large spiked head to me and gave me a good looking at. Toothless growled lightly and moved up next to me slightly protectively.

"You must be someone special to be able to be Toothless' Rider Liam." Drakke said knowingly, "He's rejected all others."

"Were you _pressuring_ Toothless at all?" I asked suspiciously tilting my head to the side.

Drakke straightened up and cough and shuffling his wings said, "N-no…wh-whatever gave you that idea?"

"Let's just say a little Night Fury told me." I said crossing my arms. Drakke probably meant for the best but it did seem rather uncalled for to be pressuring a Dragon to accept a new Rider after theirs died-assuming they even recovered from the shock.

The fact I could understand Night Furies seemed to interest Drakke, "A Night Fury Whisperer eh? Not many of you around…I've met only one other, Bill."

"Liam! Come on!" Erika shouted, "Jee-San's getting impatient!" I ran over to the bridge connecting the landing pad to the tower and went inside with Erika. Several people were at holo screens and saying things like "permission to land" and stuff about look out for mutants and zombies. Erika led me over to where Chief and an older man (Jee-San I supposed) were situated.

"Ah, there ye two arhe."Chief said galumphing over to us, "Watch duty for ye two, Zombies have been seen couple leagues south of here. Need some young eyes on the look out, and while we wait, did I eva tell ye how I met the Boneknapper Dragon?"

Erika groaned in exasperation, "Chief, I've got it burned into my memory and you totally made it up! It keeps changing every time you tell it to me and the guys!"

"Not true!" Chief said shaking a finger at Erika, "And I 'ave proof!" And pulled out a small oddly "t" shaped bone fragment, "The Bonekanpper lost it one o' the times it saved me, been tryin' to return it eva since."

"Chief…" Erika said clearly trying to hold onto all shreds of sanity, "There are no more living Boneknappers left! They're all Undead now!"

"_What's she talking about?"_ Hiccup asked.

_Bonekappers I guess. They were the first Dragons to go up against the Zombies because the military thought that they could fool the Zombies but they all enede dup getting contaminated. They're all Undead now._

"I'm tellin' ye gel!" Chief insisted, "There's still one livin' one left out there!"

I went over to the window to start the watch while Erika and Chief argued. Ten minutes later Erika joined me at the window grumbling and picked up a set of electrobinoculars.

"Crazy old git." She grumbled, "He always expects us to believe his little anecdotes. But they always keep changing…only one I think is true is how he lost his arm and leg."

"How did that happen?"I asked.

"Mutant raid twenty years ago." Erika said lowering her binoculars to adjust the focus, "A Raptor cornered him and liked the taste of him and ate his leg too. He was in the hospital for months. My dad, Edmund Haroldson, made the bionic leg and arm for him."

"And the tailfin for Toothless?" I asked.

"Uh-huh." Erika said, "Dad was always tinkering with machines and stuff. He had plans for going into bio engineering. Then…a few years back, while on duty in Russia, he just…vanished."

I couldn't say anything. I just turned back to the window and picked up another set of binoculars.

Okay I'll admit it. I was jealous. Why? My dad was dead. Erika and Ethan's missing, that meant there was still a slight chance he could be still alive.

"See anything?' Jee-San asked.

"Negatory." Erika said, "Just some birds and Wild Terrors."

"Nothing." I said.

It was going to be a long night.

The watch continued on for a few more hours with nothing happening. Erika and I were about to leave for home when…

"SARGE! Zombies! Ten miles south of here!" one of the other lookouts shouted. A loud blaring sound was coming from his monitor a large purple mass on the greens screen.

Zombies.

I ran back over to the window and looked through the binoculars. After focusing, a grisly sight met my eyes. Mangled, bloody, and some lacking limbs, the Undead were slowly advancing on the New Berk area. Looking for more victims.

Erika joined me at the window looked through here binoculars then slammed a button and shouted into the mouthpiece.

"We need every available Nightmare and Zippleback! We've got Zombies coming! South Tower! Hurry!"

"Read you loud and clear!" Sean's voice said then clicked as the connection was closed.

"Oh man…" Erika said, "Liam…hope you're ready…we haven't had a Zombie attack for almost a year…" She put on her helmet and secured it in place.

I did the same. This was what being a Rider meant. Protecting Humanity from extinction.

"Let's just do this." I said. Erika and I dashed out of the tower and leapt up onto Zephyr and Toothless. Both Dragons took off and started lfying towards the Zombie hoarde with Drakke just behind us.

"We'll have to keep them pinned until more backup shows up!" Erika said over the commlink.

"Okay!" I said then took Toothless into dive towards the Zombies. A loud shriek sounded from inside Toothless' throat and with a jarring _BOOM!_ A plasma bolt shot out and blasted a large group of Zombies sending them flying! Toothless swooped out of the dive and back into the sky. I looked down at the mass of Zombies, a large purple and black, and red mass undulating in the distance.

"There must the thousands of them…" I gasped.

"_Backup better get here soon…"_ Toothless said sounding worried, _"I only have seven shots left…"_

"Don't worry." I said, "We'll make them count." In the meantime Erika and I could use our guns to incapacitate the Zombies at least make it more difficult for them to walk. Drake swooped down on the mass of Zombies and with a deafening roar breathed out a long white hot stream of flames that incinerated several of the Zombies.

But they just kept coming.

Both Erika and I were running low on bullets and Toothless, Zephyr, and Drakke were running out of fire. So it was a bit of a relief to see Siamese, Wolf and several more Zipplebacks and Nightmares show up. Sean jumped off Wolf and onto Zephyr behind Erika as Wolf lit herself on fire and dove down and began tearing the Zombies apart. Greg and Jean began whooping and hollering as Siamese swooped down and around the Zombie mass breathing out flammable gas. After several shouts of "GET CLEAR!" the Zipplebacks lit the gas and…

_BOOOOM!_ A huge fireball incinerated the Zombies knocking of a few hundred or so. That made our load lighter, but not easier. The Zombies still kept their slow lumbering pace towards New Berk. It was like a scene right out of horror film!

"Not good…" Sean said hovering nearby on Wolf.

Then an earsplitting roar split the night air! I clamped my hand over my ears and Toothless wailed and nearly fell out of the air as the loud roar threw off his concentration.

"_Boneknapper!"_ Hiccup said.

I cracked my eyes open and sure enough, there it was, the giant undead Dragon the BoneKnapper.

"Oh no…" I groaned then snapped back into action, "We can't let it get near town!" I shouted then urged Toothless forward at top speed. The Boneknapper looked as bad as it smelled; like rotten meat left in rice wine vinegar, then in a sewer and left to stew in summer. I coughed on the smell and pressed a hand over my nose and mouth. The Bonekanpper tried to snap us up but we were too fast for the larger, bulkier Dragon.

"Toothless, go for the wings!" I said into his ear. Toothless growled and affirmative and shot upwards into the air and then dove back down like a torpedo a loud shriek filling the air and _BOOM!_ A bright blue plasma bolt shot through the Boneknapper's wing. Erika and Zephyr quickly got the idea and joined in. Sean flew past on Wolf blasting rap music from his iPod trying to confuse the Boneknapper-it was working, what other kind of music could confuse anyone than the kind where you can't even understand what the singer is saying? Finally, we managed to puncture enough holes in the Boneknapper's wings so that it started to fall to the ground. With a loud enraged roar the Undead Dragon opened its maw to breathe out noxious fumes. Sean was ready for that.

"NOW!" he shouted and Wolf let out a stream of kerosene fueled fire that ignited the fumes and turned the Boneknapper into a plummeting fireball. Sean and Wolf zoomed away from the falling Dragon followed by Erika and Zephyr. Toothless and I started to make our escape too, until I noticed something Erika hadn't.

The Boneknapper's tail!

"ERIKA!" I shouted "Behind you!"

Too late! The Boneknapper's severed tail beamed Zeypher across the back knocking Erika put of the saddle and sent her lfyiong into the trees below!

"ERIKA!" I shouted and took Toothless into a dive down after her. I was sure we were going to make it until Toothless suddenly started wobbling in midair!

_Oh no! The Bionic tailfin!_ I turned around to find the red tailfin flapping uselessly. The tail nerves got disconnected somehow! I quickly pressed down on the stirrups to activate manual controls. And I realized I forgot the notes Erika had given me! I was gonna have to remember best I could I moved my feet into a random position and we nearly tumbled over.

**"_Liam!'_ Hiccup shouted, _"Let me take over! I know what to do."_**

_Be my guest…_ I thought and allowed Hiccup to take over. I was still fully aware of what was going on, but I had no control over my body though I could still feel myself moving. It was the strangest thing ever…Try imagining playing a first person shooter game when the character is running forwards, now, imagine that, and your own limbs moving of their own volition. That was what it felt like. I could feel Hiccup moving my feet into the proper positions to control the broken bionic tailfin-if this kept up, it would get into my muscle memory no problem. Hiccup managed to stabilize Toothless' flight and took him back down into a dive after Erika and Zephyr.

Hold on Erika…we're coming…

* * *

**For this chappie, I wanted to have Liam and Toothless in some action as well as a Zombie invasion will they get to NEw BErk?...that...will be decided in the next chapter.**

**I was also trying to go for a potential start of the Liam/Erika relationship too. Diving to her rescue? is Liam Hero material or what?**

**now for my random-ass ramblings. voice actors!**

**if I had my pick i'd choose...**

**Erika: Me! (Or maybe Anne Hathaway)**

**Ethan: Haley Joel Osment**

**Liam: Jesse McCartney**

**Hiccup: Jay Barruchel (Duh)**

**Alicia Chan-Haroldson: Ming-Na**

**Arthur: David Gallagher**

**Sean Haroldson: Jonah Hill**

**Fred: Christopher Mintz-Plasse**

**Greg: T.J MIller**

**Jean: Kristen Wiig**

**Geof: Criag Ferguson**

**Drakke: Sean Conery**

**(yeah...so that's basically half the KH cast and the cast for HTTYD)**

**Okay! be on the look out for chapter Fourteen: Skullions**

**oh and the offer to narrate chapters is still open. post a 5-10 minute demo on youtube and PM me the link and don;t forget to credit me.**

**Chocobo Scribe signing off!**


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Skullions

**Hello peoples I'm ba- WAH! *dodges randomly thrown objects* Okay okay! I knownit's been forever sonce my last update! I was really bogged down with homework it;s almost finals week and all! But Here's chapter fourteen please enjoy. Read and Review or Toothless will Grrr!**

**Standard Dislcaimers apply.**

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**Chapter Fourteen: Skullions**

The trees were way too close together for Toothless to land where Erika and Zephyr crashed. Either we had to fall down, crash through the branches, or find somewhere else to land.

We went through the branches. The small branches snapped off as Toothless and I dove through them and scratched at my face-good thing I was wearing those…goug…els? Otherwise I think my eyes would've been scratched out. We landed rather roughly in a small clearing. I jumped off Toothless' back after releasing the restraints. (Ethan had told me they used to use hooks like I had-but the falling rate was too high so they switch over to magnets in the early 20th century.) I glanced around for Erika and Zephyr, with the Undead and monsters running around we had to find them fast.

"Erika! Zephyr!" I shouted hoping that one of them was still conscious after that fall. Toothless sniffed the air then darted to the left, "Found them?" I said dashing after him.

We crashed through the undergrowth and I had to clear some of it away with Liam's sword to avoid getting stuck. We finally came out into a swathe of trees and Toothless was clawing at a particularly large one and up in the lower branches was Erika and Zephyr. I joined Toothless at the base of the tree, he wasn't tall enough to reach them-and I was never that good at climbing trees. Even if I did climb up Toothless, there was still a good few yards between him and Erika.

_Liam, were you ever good at climbing trees?_ I asked.

"_You're kidding right? I lived in a concrete jungle; I've never climbed a tree in my life."_ Liam said, _"I never even played on a jungle gym!"_

_Arrghh…Liam you're not helping-Forget it, I'll get her down myself._ I thought completely aggravated.

"_Okay, but first get the climbing claws out of Toothless' saddle bag Ethan got those for me." _Liam said. At Liam's indications I managed to find some gloves that had curved spikes coming out of the palms. Toothless helped up to the tree trunk and a little clumsily I started to climb up the tree. The climbing claws were really effective but it was still hard climbing up that tree-but at least I didn't fall. I finally got up onto the branch that Erika was slung on and wrapping ym legs around the branch I pulled off the climbing claws and stowed them in one of the many pockets in my pants and slid over to Erika.

"Erika?" I said shaking her shoulder gently, "Erika, can you hear me? It's me Hiccup."

"Aoooughhhh….." Erika groaned.

"I'll take that as a yes." I muttered. I turned to Zephyr who was starting to come to.

"Hey Zephyr can you get Erika down? I don't think I'll be able to carry her down by myself."

"_Sure thing."_ Zephyr said and gently grasped the back of Erika's jacket in her teeth and gently got her paws around her middle I clambered onto her back and pulled Erika up onto the saddle. Zephyr crouched and jumped out of the tree gliding to the forest floor. She landed rather roughly and Erika and I were sent barrel rolling off to the ground.

And I landed on top….

_OHMYGOD! Not again….this isn't supposed to happen so fast…It's supposed to be get to know each other-date-then fall in love then get married and…_That wasn't me thinking….

"WHAT!" I blurted out and leapt off.

"_Whuh? Y-you heard me thinking!"_ Liam spluttered. I was able to pick up a flurry of thought from Liam and slowly…I began to piece things together.

Liam _liked_ Erika.

The same why I liked Astrid.

I completely lost it.

"LIAM! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING! I don't want to be feeling _your_ love pangs for my descendent! It's creepy!"

"_Whoa…what? Why are you acting like you're her dad all of a sudden?"_ Liam asked slightly nonplused.

Her dad? Well…getting nitpicky I was actually her I don't know how many greats grandfather and I was sure I could have some say on the whole boyfriend/girlfriend subject. If Liam and I weren't currently sharing the same body right now this wouldn't have been such a big problem. But since we were and that we could apparently hear each other's thoughts I was having an issue with the fact that Liam was fantasying about him and Erika being boyfriend and girlfriend. I was going to do everything I had to, to make sure Erika and Arthur had a happy future together.

Don't look at me like that. I'm not being possessive or anything…I'm just being a little…over protective. I mean, Erika and Ethan are my family; it's only natural that I should look out for them.

And the fact that Erika and Ethan looked almost exactly like my own son and daughter Arim and Freya was probably promoting this "protective older brother" thing. I kneaded my forehead groaning at this new and disturbing complication. I crouched down next to Erika to make sure she was alright. As far as I could tell she wasn't hurt but still stunned. I took off my jacket and folded it into pillow and put it under Erika's head. There wasn't much I could do at the moment until she came to. Zephyr padded over to Erika's side and curled up around her keeping her warm.

I turned to Toothless, "Let's get a fire going," I gathered up some firewood from around the clearing, once I got the wood and stones piled up Toothless lit the wood and it started sparking as the flames shot up. Looks like starting a campfire had changed much since my time. I started stoking the embers with a long stick out of getting fidgety; I was never able to sit still for long periods of time. One guy in Valhalla-a doctor-had asked if I had ever been diagnosed with something he called "ADHD" whatever that was…But apparently it explained my short attention span and impulsiveness from what he said.

After a few minutes Erika started to come to.

"Oooowwww…." She said rubbing her head, "Now I remember why I hate Chief's Boneknapper tales. I just got beamed by one."

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked. Erika blinked looking confused.

"Hiccup?" She asked, "When did you and Liam switch?"

"The artificial tailfin stopped working and Liam had to activate the…man…you…awl…? Controls. But he forgot the foot positions." I said, "So I took over."

"…And…why are you still in charge? Couldn't you let Liam take over again since we're all on the ground?"

_No…_I thought trying to push Liam back, _I am NOT leaving you alone with her._

"_Since when do YOU get that say so?"_ Liam complained, _"You're just being a stubborn old man!"_

_HEY! I'm only twenty eight!_

"_Tch…add on an extra eleven hundred years…"_ Liam said.

_I'm an Einhejar! I'm dead! I haven't aged since I died idiot!_

Erika was giving me a weird look.

"Are you…and Liam fighting?" She asked, "You looked kinda pissed off."

"What?" I asked.

"I meant, you looked mad." Erika said.

"No…" I said looking away, "…I just need to stay in charge until we get back to New Berk…Liam's just worried…" Okay I could tell her that much. I picked up on a slight annoyance from Liam mixed with some relief.

"Can you walk at all?" I asked wanting to change the subject.

"I think so." Erika said and started to stand up she wobbled slightly but didn't fall over. She straightened and looked up, "Too close for takeoff… We'll have to go on foot." She pulled her gun from her belt, "Better get your sword or gun out, we'll likely run into Mutants and Zombies."

"Right." I said also standing up kicking out the fire and unhooking Liam's sword from my belt. Erika pulled out a small rectangular object from her pockets and started tapping it.

"Right…New Berk is…that way." She pointed to my left.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

She said something that sounded like "Glow-bal pose-zit-ion-ing Sist-stem".

"It shows exactly where we are." Erika explained.

"How does it work? How can it possibly know where we are?" I asked excited. Erika started laughing.

"I'll tell you once we get back home. Then you can get it into your journal while it's still fresh." Erika said.

"Deal."

"Here's your jacket back." Erika said tossing it to me I caught it and put it back on grateful, I was starting to get rather chilly but not as cold as it was in Berk. It was actually rather warm here. I almost didn't believe Ethan when he said it was almost winter. It felt more like spring! Ethan had said that in the West Coast that there's always this heat wave that hits at the end of October.

We started on our way back to New Berk with Zephyr and Toothless following. It was so dark I could barely see a thing. Both of us had to constantly relay on our Dragons to be able to get through the foliage.

"Just like that day…" I said more to myself, "I could barely walk then…"

"_Don't worry Hiccup."_ Toothless crooned, _"We'll get you and Erika out of here."_

"Don't forget Liam." I said laughing slightly.

"_Of course I wouldn't. How could I forget my own Rider?"_ Toothless said and I could have sworn he was sticking his tongue out. He was finally back to his old self. I smiled slightly. If Liam hadn't come along when he did, I wasn't sure what would've become of Toothless.

"Can't you two be more quiet?" Erika said a little tensely, "Mutants might hear us…and Skullions have _really_ good hearing."

"Oh…" I said, "Sorry, I…wait…Skullions? They don't have ears or eyes. They only have a good sense of smell."

"Um…" Erika said looking even more tense, "_Those_ Skullions died out a few hundred years ago…_These_ Skullions…have very good hearing and smell but terrible eyesight. They mutated from wolves and lizards when some Skullion DNA got loose from a lab and after the war forty years ago."

I had almost no idea what she was talking about. But I took her advice and kept as quiet as possible. We continued through the undergrowth, Erika taking in sharp intakes of breath every time we made too loud a sound. What was she afraid of?

It was rather quiet for several minutes until a loud roar like howl sounded through the night air.

And Erika nearly cut off my air supply when she suddenly grabbed me from behind.

"There's something out there…." She said sounding terrified.

"GGGhhhhhhkkkk!….Can't….bre…eathe…" I gasped.

"Sorry…" Erika said and let me go.

The undergrowth around us rustled and I could hear low snarling. I stopped and looked around, warily. Toothless and Zephyr sniffed the air then let out low growls.

"_Skullions…"_ He said his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. I pressed the button on the hilt of Liam's sword and held it in a ready position. Erika pulled her gun out but she was shaking so badly I was afraid she'd end up shooting _me_ instead. Zephyr took up a protective stance behind Erika her back arched and ready to pounce.

Out of the undergrowth bust a large spiked Skullion! Erika screamed so loud that it knocked Toothless and Zephyr off focus for a few seconds.

"Erika…" I said, "Get behind me." Several more Skullions shuffled out of the under growth, "Now!" I hissed. Erika ducked behind me and I held the sword in a ready grip trying to remember what the weak point was for Skullions and hoping that it would be the same for these guys!

_What was it Fishlegs said…?_ I thought_, The underbelly?_

I was pretty sure Erika was in no condition to tell me.

"Toothless….do you remember what Skullion's weak point is?" I said as the Skullions advanced on us.

"…_It's definitely the underbelly."_ Toothless said, _"The weak point's the same for these too."_

Good that saved a lot of trouble. I adjusted the sword in my hand and hoping Erika wouldn't decide to grab hold of me rushed the Skullion. It roared and swerved out of my way. I staggered to a stop swinging the sword at the same time and caught a Skullion on the shoulder. Toothless roared and swiped at the one that had dodged me before it could reach Erika.

Erika yelped again and ducked behind Zephyr. If she stayed here, it would only complicate things. We had to get out of here.

"Erika! Get on Zephyr and get out of here!" I shouted swinging at another Skullion this time the blade plunged into its belly and I yanked the sword out leaving green blood squirting out in an arc.. Erika was frozen in place. I took another swing at the Skullions near me and rushed over to her.

"COME ON!" I shouted hauling her onto Toothless Erika didn't even try to hold on. It wasn't until I had gotten on that I noticed that she passed out. I quickly secured myself into the saddle and using one arm to hold onto Erika quickly spurred Toothless into a run with Zephyr bringing up the rear. The Skullions charged after us relentlessly. They weren't about to let fresh meat get away from them! This was almost worse than getting stranded on the Isle of the Skullions on that harebrained treasure hunt! I leaned over Toothless' head mentally urging him to go faster.

Loud roaring came from behind me, I looked over my shoulder to see Zephyr shoot a blot of fire at the Skullions chasing us. That put some considerable distance between us.

Finally after several tense minutes we got to a large clearing where Ethan and Jet just touched down."Sis! Liam!" Ethan shouted jumping off Jet and rushing over to us, "Are you guys okay?"

"I think so." I said also dismounting, "Erika passed put but I think she'll be okay."

"Hiccup?" Ethan said, "I thought you and Liam were only going to switch every other day."

"The tailfin…" I said jerking my head over to it, "It got disconnected and Liam forgot how to work the manual controls." I hoped I could get around the fact I hadn't let Liam out again, "Then we ran into Skullions."

Ethan looked worried, "You didn't run into any Zombies too did you?" I shook my head, "Good…we managed to drive them off but they'll be back."

"Oooowwww…" Erika groaned Both Ethan and I turned to face her as she started to wake up.

"Sis!" Ethan said bolting over, "Sis are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah…I think so…" Erika said giving her head a shake, "Skullions…." She shivered and grimaced.

What could have happened for Erika to be so afraid of Skullions? I mean the face alone is enough to give you nightmares for the next three weeks but a full blown phobia?

"Had a bad run in with Skullions." Erika said to my silent question, "Got lost five years back, if Toothless hadn't found me when he did, I would've been Skullion chow." She shuddered again.

I didn't say anything I was sort of in the same boat as her. After falling off Toothless after downing the Red Death I never liked the thought of falling….

"We'd better get back to New Berk." Ethan said turning to face me.

"Right." I said nodding, "I'll take Erika back on Toothless." Ethan nodded and left to get back onto Jet. I remounted Toothless and secured myself in and a few seconds later we were all airborne and heading back to town.

Thankfully, Erika didn't require and medical attention. All she needed was some water and a good night's sleep. But she did say: 'This was the worst Halloween ever!"

I still really have no idea what this Halloween is…but it is very similar to Samhain. Except now it seems the main course is anything sweet rather than goose. The next day (and after very reluctantly allowing Laim to take over) Erika had made a full recovery much to Arthur's delight.

"Jeez Erika I was worried about you!" Arthur said giving Erika hug. Erika just laughed.

"Aw come on Arthur, I know you would've pulled me out of the Skullion's stomach if it ate me." Erika said laughing, "Besides, Zeph, Toothless, and Hiccup were there too. You should've seen him! He really kicked ass.'

I could feel some of the backwash of Liam's simmering resentment. He wasn't going to give up on his crush on Erika…

On the way to the training ring Erika and Arthur were making plans for a date this coming weekend. Good. I hoped that they'd have fun. I have to admit they do look good together.

_Hiccup…_Liam thought, _What is it gonna take for me to get your seal of approval?_

"_A lot."_ I said some of my sarcastic sense of humor starting to resurface, _"Besides, Erika and Arthur already have something between them. What makes you think anything's gonna happen between you and her?"_

No answer.

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**Hmmm...what will Liam have to do to get Hiccup's seal of approval?**

**Anyways good luck with finals and it's almost winter break whooooo! *makes plans to see Tangled* I haven't see it yet and I ehar it's AWSOME! **

**Be on the lookout for Chapter Fifteen: News of Edmund narrated by Toothless!**

**Chocobo Scribe**


	16. Chapter Fifteen: News of Edmund

**Aaahhh...where has the time gone? I can't belive I've been leaving everyone hanging for over two months! *shot* Well anyway I'e finally gotten this chapter up-a nice long one btw so i won't hold you up with my random ass ramblings. I hope you enjoy!**

**Read and Review or Toothless will GRRR!**

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**Chapter Fifteen: News of Edmund**

Hiccup was just being stubborn. Okay I will admit it; it probably was pretty strange for him to be experiencing the backwash of Liam's crush on Erika, but as long as Liam was happy I had no objections. At least Erika wasn't knocking Liam around (unless he really deserved it which was almost never) the way Astrid did with Hiccup (Though half of it was just how she expressed her care-Humans have the strangest habits…). But I do agree that Liam's expecting that something would happen between him and Erika was a bit of a stretch. Erika and Arthur had known each other since they were five-when Arthur moved here from England and since two years ago they have more of what Humans call boyfriend and girlfriend.

I tried telling Liam to meet with some of the other girls in town (more due to Hiccup begging me to make sure Liam and Erika weren't alone together (I really don't know why he should be worried about that since Hiccup is basically possessing Liam right now) but no luck, Liam, was completely head over heels in love with Erika. He would tell me about it saying how she was "a million times prettier than…" then say the name of some famous actress; or saying she was the kindest person in the world. I couldn't help but be reminded of how Hiccup would talk about Astrid…

I just hoped that Liam wouldn't end up getting hurt. He had already gone through more than enough. He didn't need to go through any heartbreak.

Liam also told me other things too. There were a few light parts of his time in Manhattan. He did have one friend there.

"…Danny." Liam said, "I ran into him during one of my failed escape attempts. He's an armature movie director-won a few awards. Anyway I ran into him and his crew while they were filming and after they were done and saw that I was half starved Danny got me something to eat." Liam paused to take a drink of water, "I never told him about what really went on between me and my mother…he thought that money was just tight so he said he'd pay me to do a few stunts and camera work. That was how I got enough money to get out here."

Days went by rather quickly with training and the occasional raid-one month later Liam was officially a senior cadet. I think Erika and Ethan might have pulled a few strings and some of if was due to Liam's toughness that he developed from living in New York. You HAVE to be tough and incurably stubborn to live there-under normal circumstances.

Liam found work at the Ranch, he helped David with the feeding-and yes, now Liam is the tackle dummy for the hatchlings. Some of the happiest hours spent was when we were flying above the mountains. We never went too far, safety regulations and everything-so no day trips to Vancouver. Liam and Hiccup still somehow managed to get along though Hiccup point blank refused to allow Liam to be alone with Erika and if they had to be alone together Hiccup would be in charge. This arrangement drove Liam nearly insane.

I think Hiccup might have picked up the "overprotective gene" from Stoick and maybe it also had something to do with the fact that Erika was the spitting image of his daughter Freya.

Ahhh…Human parenting is an utter mystery to me. Dragons, you feed and protect your young until they can fend for themselves and they find a mate and then they repeat everything you did with their offspring.

"_Ready Liam?"_ I asked as he swung himself up into the saddle clumsily.

"Ready." Liam said securing himself to the saddle and leaning forwards clutching my sides with his thighs. He had become more confident with his flying-at least he didn't scream at take off anymore, he still got a bit airsick but it wasn't as bad now. I crouched low to the ground and thrust my wings down and took off! Flying with Liam was different from flying with Hiccup-but who cares. I enjoyed flying again after Liam became my Rider. It became something I _wanted_ to do rather than something I _had_ to do to keep my sanity.

As for Liam and Hiccup sharing the same body…I certainly hope that somehow either Hiccup can get back to Valhalla or get his own body before either of them went crazy. Being able to hear his voice again was soothing-it still pains me slightly, no matter how many times Hiccup told me "It wasn't your fault." I'm still torn with guilt that I had been unable to protect him.

"It's hard to believe it's almost winter." Liam said, "New York's probably already seven feet in snow by now." It had started to snow in New Berk but more of a light dusting. Before the war the Rockies would have already had tourists flocking to ski resorts for ski vacations. But due to some climate changes from the nuclear warfare the Rockies had become slightly more temperate. Soon, snowball fights would break out all over New Berk and the tourists would come to ski and snowboard.

"_You wouldn't believe what winters in Old Berk were like."_ I said, _"Nearly twenty-four hours of darkness and it would start snowing in mid October."_ We were gliding over the mountain tops which were starting to get a light dusting of snow.

"How far north is Old Berk?" Liam asked, "It sounds like it's right on the Arctic Circle."

"_Just a few miles south of it."_ I saidwhile banking to the left. We had flown several miles west of New Berk, far enough to see the ocean and Vancouver in the distance. We hadn't had a chance to visit there yet-and Liam actually hadn't wanted to go there since his father died the airship crash.

Liam shifted slightly in the saddle as a gust of wind buffeted us slightly.

"Let's go back Toothless." He said, "I'm starting to get cold." He leaned forwards in the saddle and leaned more to the left making a loop back home. During the flight back Liam started muttering to himself quietly. It sounded like he was rehearsing for something…

"Okay…Maybe I'll try this: "Erika, it's really nice out this evening would you like to go for a walk?"" he paused, "A walk…no no no no, I don't think that's it…" Liam muttered, "Ice cream? A movie? Oh wait…Arthur already took her out to see a movie…need to think of something…make dinner for her? HICCUP SHUT UP!" We suddenly tipped over alarmingly to the right and fell for good several yards before Liam managed to get me straightened again.

"_ARGH! Don't flail about like that in the saddle!"_ I growled, _"You'll fall off!"_

"But…" Liam started. I swopped down looking for the tallest tree I could find. When I did I landed on the top most branches causing the tree to tilt forward.

"Whhhooaaaa….T-Toothless!" Liam yelped hanging on. He yelped when I got my tail around him and I dropped him on one of the branches in front of me. Liam held onto the branch like it was a raft at sea.

"Toothless….what are we doing up in a tree?" Liam asked turning a bit green from the tree's movement.

"_Liam, listen."_ I said, _"You and Hiccup need to just deal with each other until we can get this sorted out! Liam I don't have anything against you and Erika, I just don't want you to get hurt."_ Liam looked away.

"_Liam…"_ I growled.

"Okay fine I'm scared." Liam said, "I don't know what other girls are like. How do I know that one of them won't beat me up or something?" He bit his lip and lowered his head so I wouldn't see him cry.

"_Liam…"_ I leaned forward touching my snout to his forehead, _"I won't let anyone hurt you."_ Liam smiled weakly and patted my snout.

"Thanks Toothless…" Liam murmured then after a pause, "Now can we get down from this tree? I think my arms are starting to fall asleep." I smiled and using my tail hoisted Liam safely onto my back. We then turned back to New Berk and catching a gust of wind glided back to town. We landed back at the ranch an hour later. Liam slid off-still rather clumsily but not as bad as it used to be. He was getting better at getting my saddle on and off-speaking of which, Liam could now (with assistance from Hiccup) use the manual controls for my bionic tail fin without too much wobbling.

"I'll get something to eat then I'll be back out to help David." Liam said shouldering the saddle, "How does another flight sound later?"

"_I'll be looking forward to it Liam."_ I said. Liam ran back to the shed where all the saddles were kept then back into the house. One loud yelp and a splat later told me that Ethan must have been working on some new tomato flinging device and Liam had gotten a tomato in his face. Angry shouting confirmed this.

I shuffled my wings and padded over to my paddock where Aria and our hatchlings were resting. It was time for a short rest before Liam and I got back to flying again. I lay down next to Aria who gently pressed her snout to the side of my jaw.

"_Did you and Liam have a good flight?"_ She asked.

"_We did. We flew near the coast."_ I said nuzzling my mate back. Her scent was almost intoxicating…It must be getting close to mating season. Already the mated pairs on the ranch were getting a little hornier than usual. Liam, the poor boy had actually walked in on one pair on accident, he was so shocked both David and Erika had to get him back to the house.

"_You didn't run into any monsters did you?"_ Aria asked.

"_No they weren't hungry today."_ I said, _"We passed a few airships, that was all."_ I didn't actually want to tell her about Liam wanting to go forward with his plans for Erika but she must have known something was worrying me.

"_Toothless…"_ Aria said pulling back slightly, _"Is something worrying you?"_

I sighed slightly, _"It's…It's Liam…He's clearly fallen in love with Erika. But she and Arthur already have a relationship."_ I paused glancing over to where Liam and David were now feeding the hatchlings tuna, _"I just don't want him to get hurt. He's already been through too much. The last thing he needs is to go through any heartbreak."_ Aria sighed also beginning to look worried. We both considered Erika, Ethan and Liam as our own young-the same way I came to see Hiccup as my own hatchling-and the thing we wanted most for them and our hatchlings was their own happiness. Unfortunately since Liam refused to try strike something up with one of the other girls in town (I actually couldn't blame him for being a bit nervous around Jean she's rather rambunctious and I knew Erika and Ethan when they were incurably hyperactive) he might have to learn this the hard way…

After feeding time-Since it was almost mating season we both had to eat twice as much it was time for a nice long rest. Around mid afternoon Liam came back out for our second flight. It wasn't as long as our previous one-even on that one we didn't do anything extravagant. Though Liam was now used to flying now he was still prone to airsickness. We found that out the hard way. Hiccup had been in charge that day and without really thinking about started some of our old flying antics and…well…you get the idea.

We just flew a few miles north of New Berk over the mountains. We did stop off at one of the neighboring towns for a brief rest and some coffee. It was close to nightfall by the time we got back to New Berk, Liam had insisted on looking in the thrift store and floral shop. He had gotten himself a dress coat and shirt, pants and loafers. I was beginning to get very worried. He was planning on asking Erika out on a date. He _was_ fully aware of the fact that Erika and Arthur were already going out wasn't he?

While Alicia was making dinner-spaghetti by the smell of it-Liam had locked himself in his room "making himself presentable" as Humans say. When he came back out I almost didn't recognize him! The clothes really made a difference, he looked older and there was this strange smell around him. I think it was cologne…I can't stand the smell of cologne…

"What do you think?" Liam asked. I sneezed as the scent of the cologne hit me right in the back of my throat.

"_Ugh…the cologne…it smell's AWFUL!"_ I growled, _"You didn't have to put so much on!"_ I swatted at my nose with my paws trying to bat the smell away but it was no use it was already in my head! Liam frowned, blinked then sniffed himself. He wrinkled his nose slightly.

"Maybe I did put too much on…never used cologne before…" Liam said, "I'll try to wash it off." And disappeared back into the house. He came back out this time with the flowers he had bought in the next town.

"Wish me luck Toothless!" he said cheerily, and headed off to the downtown area where Erika had gone to pick up some groceries.

"_Oh Father Thor please take it easy on him…"_ I prayed, _"I have a feeling this is not going to go well…"_

Sometimes I just hate it when I'm right.

An hour later Liam raced back in tears. Before I fully knew what had happened Liam's arms were suddenly around my neck, his face pressed against it shaking from the tears. I asked him what was wrong but he could barely speak. Instead I just wrapped a warm wing around him shielding him from view. Liam couldn't stop crying, every time I thought he was about to calm down he would double up in a new wave of tears. When Liam had finally calmed down enough to speak he told me what had happened. He had managed to find Erika who was just leaving the grocery store and was about to go over to her when Arthur walked by.

"…I…I th-thought that they we-ere ju-ju-just saying hi to each other…" Liam hiccupped and struggled to catch his breath, "Th-they talked…s-so I just decided to wait. Then…then…they…." Liam dissolved into tears again unable to continue. Based on how Liam was feeling I was able to guess.

"I should've known!" Liam sobbed, "I was so STUPID!" he dissolved into tears again. I let out a low comforting croon drawing Liam closer with my snout and wrapping my forelegs around him. Liam stayed there shivering from the tears until he fell into an uneasy sleep. Aria sighed worried.

"_Will he be alright?"_ She asked.

"_I don't know…"_ I said, _"I really don't know."_

Half an hour later Erika and Arthur came back both looking worried and slightly embarrassed; Erika took a few steps towards me. I tightened myself around Liam and growled softly. Erika stopped in her tracks.

"Is Liam in there?" She asked pointing to my wings. I didn't respond, why should I tell her? Erika sighed in defeat, "Alright…I understand…I was a jerk to Liam."

"We both were." Arthur said, "We didn't notice that Liam was there until after we…uh…" His face turned beet red and he looked at his feet scratching his head.

"Until after we…" Erika gulped also blushing, "…Kissed." Both looked away blushing furiously.

I peered down in my wings at Liam, he was still asleep. I raised my wings slightly to show he was there then dropped them back down. Erika bit her finger, which meant she was thinking hard. I had found it very funny that she did the same thing Hiccup did whenever he was deep in thought. Hiccup had found it mildly disturbing.

"Tell Liam to meet Arthur and I here tomorrow morning." Erika said, "We'll…straighten this out."

I sure hoped for Liam's sake that they could.

The next few days were freezing cold. Not just because of the hard freeze and the snow. It was because Liam point blank refused to even make eye contact with Erika and Arthur. They tried everything to try to talk to Liam but he would just walk right past them-rather rudely I might add. And if he _did_ have to say anything to them he would just say one word rather coldly.

Finally after losing all patience I took matters into my own claws. As soon as I was sure Liam was alone on the pastures-and ensuring that the bionic tailfin was working properly the day before when Bill was doing usual repairs on it; I swooped in, and snatch up Liam in my claws. Liam yelped and dropped the piece of cod he had been handing out to the hatchlings.

"T-Toothless!" Liam yelped squirming slightly in my grasp. I tightened my hold on him to keep him still, it was hard enough just to fly with him in my claws. I flew over to an obscure valley where I dropped him onto the grass then landed in front of him.

"Toothless! What are we doing here?" Liam asked, "David's gonna be wondering where I vanished off to!"

"_Liam!"_ I said sharply almost growling, _"We have to talk. You can't keep ignoring Erika and Arthur-THEY WERE TRYING TO APOLOGIZE."_

Liam looked away looking both angry and embarrassed. He sat cross legged on the grass crossing his arms across his chest like a child who had been sent to the corner.

"_Liam…" _I said, _"Erika does like you."_

Liam snorted at this, "Yeah and she made out with Arthur!" He went on for about ten minutes-he clearly felt utterly betrayed. I had to get him back to his senses and out of this downward spiral. When Liam stopped for breath I leaned forward almost nose to nose with him.

"_Liam…Listen to me."_ I said in a low growl, _"You can't keep avoiding Erika, you're living under the same roof for crying out loud! If you can't forgive her for what happened, can you at least just forget it happened?"_

Liam stopped, he looked away biting his lip he was thinking hard. After several tense minutes Liam finally spoke.

"I won't talk about it," was all he said.

We returned to New Berk a while later. The delay was mainly due to that Liam needed some time alone-then he cried telling me about some of the not so great times of living in Manhattan. Liam was so set on telling Erika and his past experiences must have caused him to react like this. After crying he didn't want anyone to see his face red and messy. I didn't blame him. I had several moments like this with Hiccup while he was recovering from the amputation of his leg-I understood perfectly well.

"Liam! Toothless!" Ethan ran out to greet us followed by David, "There you are! We we're getting worried about you." Liam slid off my back with a faint "ow!". Riding a Dragon bareback isn't very comfortable even in the best of circumstances.

"Where were you guys?" David asked, "Erika was going crazy, she thought you got eaten or something."

"What?" Liam blurted out sounding very worried-had he already forgotten what had happened the other day?

"Arthur's not gonna be happy…" Ethan said, "Erika cried for a whole hour after she wasn't able to find you."

"Where is she now?" Liam asked, "I…I need to talk to her."

Ethan pointed to the house over his shoulder with his thumb, "In the living room, I think she's going to end up with carpel tunnel syndrome soon. Every time she's upset or angry she goes on a _Kingdom Hearts_ Heartless ass-kicking spree."

Liam rushed into the house before Ethan was done talking.

Only hours earlier he was sulking and basically being a jerk to Erika; now it was like it never happened upon hearing how upset she had been.

Love really does conquer all.

Somehow Liam, Erika, and Arthur managed to patch things together-not before Erika punched Liam on the shoulder. If they do ever get together I sure hope their relationship wouldn't be _too_ much of a punch-kiss kind-just because it worked for Hiccup and Astrid wouldn't mean it would work for Erika and Liam-assuming they got together.

The next few days slipped by with training and the monthly Iron Chef competition; which ended in an exploding dessert. Liam's birthday was coming up; Erika and Ethan were planning a surprise party for him. This would also be Liam's first ever birthday party so it had to be memorable. While Arthur and I were keeping Liam busy at the training ring with some practice runs through the obstacle course Erika, Ethan, Alicia, Bill, and the rest of the gang were getting things ready for Liam's birthday party.

All those plans went up in smoke when the alarm went off. Geof, who was at the west tower, had just received a distress signal from Vancouver. The city was being attacked by some Green Death; smaller than the Red Death's but MUCH more destructive because they attack in groups. All of New Berk's best flew out to Vancouver's aid…leaving all the cadets behind-much to Liam's outrage.

"BUT I'M A RIDER TOO!" Liam shouted at the general, a solidly built Black woman in a brown jumpsuit and black combat gear, "WHY CAN'T I GO!"

The General, Cecilia, knit her eyebrows together clearly agitated at Liam's stubbornness, "You seriously think that I'm going to let you and the other cadet's people's _kids_, into a death zone?" She started again soon as Liam opened his mouth to retort, "No, Liam, no, no, and NO!" they argued for what felt like two hours until Liam lost his voice.

"Trust me." Cecilia said, "We will do everything we can to help the citizens of Vancouver." Then mounted her Nightmare, secured herself in the saddle and took off to join the other Riders flying over to Vancouver. Liam watched until they all vanished into the distance then turned to face me, his face red and blotchy and unable to speak.

"…What should I do?" Liam asked as soon as he got his voice back, "I want to help the others in Vancouver but…" he trailed off. I knew what he was getting at, disobeying orders and he knew there would be consequences. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He leaned back against my side and closed his eyes.

It was quiet for a few hours, except for the sporadic minutes where Liam appeared to be talking to himself, I guessed that Hiccup was trying to help because it sounded like Liam was talking to him and just spoke aloud out of habit. He kept forgetting that all he had to do was think what he wanted to say and Hiccup would hear him.

"…I guess…but…oh I don't know…just…I don't know how to say it…" Liam muttered and after a long pause, "You take over for now." And slapped the back of his head smartly, he blinked and his eyes changed to dark green.

"Why are things so strict in this time?" Hiccup asked, "I mean…if Liam's hometown is in danger…it should be obvious, go and damn the consequences."

"_I think people have developed a "Rules Fetish" or something."_ I said, _"But I agree. Just do it. Ahhh…things were simpler then…"_

"There you two are." Erika said jogging over to us. I caught a faint whiff of Kaluha cake from her. Since the hard freeze, she was no longer wearing her usually belly baring sweater and had replaced it with a hip length one of the same color.

"I was wonder where-." She stopped looked Hiccup in the eyes, "Oh, Hiccup hey."

"Um…yeah…Hi." Hiccup said awkwardly, "So…you heard about what happened?" Erika nodded.

"What we are gonna do about it?" Erika asked.

"What?" Hiccup asked taken by surprise. Erika rolled her eyes.

"I was going to ask Liam." Erika said, "If you would be so kind as to let me talk to him."

"NO!" Hiccup said flat out. This resulted in Erika giving him one of her super deluxe death glares.

"I just want to talk to him Hiccup!" Erika said totally exasperated.

"_Just let her talk to Liam." _I said_, "Trust me-she can get slightly worse than Astrid."_ Hiccup whirled around on me giving me the "are you out of your mind!" look. He was so worked up he was spluttering half in English, half in Norse and mispronouncing half of the English words.

"I…I can't j-just…I mean….what if Liam….He's completely…h-hourny..?" Hiccup wasn't used to all the slang teenagers used and ended up using some of the wrong words I don't know what you think, but Liam was anything _but_ horny. Hiccup fumbled on half to himself half to me, while Erika was listening to every word looking both annoyed and mildly amused.

"Um, Hiccup, I can understand every word you're saying." Erika said. Hiccup flushed bright red and turned to face her.

"Oh…hey…I-it's not like that or anything…" Hiccup stammered, "I mean…we're family and all…I'm just…um…looking out for you. That's it…"

Three seconds of silence.

"Just let me talk to Liam Gramps." Erika said. Hiccup blanched and for the next five minutes they were so absorbed in an argument and borderline fistfight until I slapped Hiccup on the back of the head with my tailfins. This wouldn't be the last time anyone referred to Hiccup as an "old man".

"OW!" He gave his head a shake as Liam came back out.

"Agh…So…you were saying Erika?" Liam asked as if nothing had happened.

"I was asking are you going to do anything about what's going on in Vancouver or not." Erika said starting to calm down now that Hiccup was in the back of Liam's mind no doubt simmering with frustration.

Liam sighed in defeat and turned around, "I don't know." He said, "I mean…We…all the cadets we were ordered to stay here and-."

"I wasn't asking that." Erika said, "What I meant was what do _you_ want to do about it." Liam looked at her over his shoulder. He took a deep breath…

"I want to go help." Liam said.

"Then let's go help." Erika said like it was the obvious thing to do, "Come on Hero."

"Erika." Arthur said, "You. Are. So. Impulsive. We're going to get yelled at by the general, suspended, put on pooper scooper duty, and get sacked." Even so Arthur had already mounted his Nadder, Lenneth and was clad in his combat gear with his gun slung across his back and knife belted to his left thigh.

"Why thank you." Erika said with a wry smile, "You're so sweet." Erika had somehow convinced Arthur, Greg, Jean, Fred, Ethan, and Sean into the Vancouver rescue operation without permission. Greg and Jean weren't too hard to convince just Erika telling them that they would have to use lots of explosions was enough, and of course where ever Erika goes, Ethan goes. Twins are just like that. Sean, Fred, and Arthur had been harder. Fred being the worrywart had point blank refused but was coming along anyway because he was afraid of everyone else getting turned into monster food and he was the only one here who ha d an extensive knowledge on mutants. Sean was coming because under all that toughness he's actually quite protective of his cousins.

"We are so dead." Fred said, "We are so dead…"

"If that happens it happens." Erika said, "Now let's get going." And pulled her goggles on.

I was amazed that we took off without anyone noticing-but we were noticed by Geof and Drakke who was still at the West Tower and yes, we all got yelled at.

"Ye kiddies are in SO MUCH TROUBLE when General Cecilia hears about this!" Geof ranted off stumping around his bionic limbs whirring loudly.

"You don't have a full idea of what you're going up against." Drakke said, "Toothless, you of all should know, you did go against the Red Death-and you _barely_ survived."

"_That was then."_ I growled, _"I'm older now, and stronger."_ Not to mention I was also immortal until the Ragnorak.

"Drakke you know how vicious not to mention hungry Green Deaths can get!" Erika protested, "We have to help!"

"No." Drakke said, "You will all go back to New Berk-I will make sure of that." He crouched down preparing himself to take off to escort us back home.

I didn't think so, neither did Liam. I thrust my wings downward and launched into the air towards Vancouver. Drakke roared in alarm and tried to snatch me out of the air, unfortunately for him I was built for speed and he was built for power.

"Faster Toothless!" Liam shouted leaning forwards on my back. I flapped my wings harder in response. I climbed up higher into the air where I could go faster. I was able to catch a strong gust of wind and rode it to save my strength. Soon, Vancouver came into view. The city was in flames.

I heard a metallic sound as Liam pulled out his sword and activated it. I put on an extra burst of speed diving right at Green Death at full speed. Liam let out a fierce cry and swung his sword at the beast as we flew past it; I swooped back up to the skies ready for another round. The Green Death roared at us and leapt up into the air after us to give chase!

"We have to lead it away from the city!" Liam shouted over the wind and general sounds of panic coming from below. I nodded and launched a fireball at the beast as it came rushing up to us. That got its attention. It roared angrily at us and immediately gave chase. I whipped around and flew away towards the coast-and right into another Green Death.

Liam yelped and tried to get me to change direction but he had started just seconds too late, and we were going to crash! Both Liam and I braced ourselves for impact.

_BOOM!_

"Geez Laim!" Erika's voice said, "We all had a hard time catching up with you!" The Green Death had been struck down, and hovering above us was Erika riding Zephyr looking _very_ annoyed. Behind us Sean, Wolf, Fred, and Ventus had taken out the one chasing us.

_GrrrroooOOAAAW!_ The Green Death that Zephyr had just blasted was coming back for a second wind. Erika quickly steered Zephyr out of the way and I flew upwards away from the beast. Liam leaned forwards over my head as we caught up with Erika and Zephyr. Erika was not please din the slightest.

"Remind me to punch you after this." Erika said, "You two nearly gave us heart attacks when you and Toothless took off like that! And _you_ Toothless." Erka said pointing to me, "Don't start being a bad influence on Laim! Now let's send these bad boys back to the Pacific!" She then spurred Zephyr into a full blast dive at another Green Death that was ransacking the entrance of Vancouver's Chinatown and being hit with a broom by a determined restaurant owner who was yelling at the top of his lungs in Cantonese. I looked up and saw another one diving right at us.

"They're not fireproof inside!" Liam shouted, "We'll blow it up!" And we were rushing headlong at the Green Death. The jaws of the beast opened causing sulfurous gas to come spilling out.

"NOW!" Liam shouted, I let loose a fireball right into the maw of the Green Death followed up by a round of bullets from Laim's gun. I dove down to avoid the explosion and chunks of flying monster meat. Liam yelped and then made a noise of disgust-he had been hit by one of the flying chunks.

"_Are you alright Laim?"_ I asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Liam said, "Now let's go help everyone else!" I roared in agreement and shot off towards the coast where a small unit of riders was trying to fend off the largest Green Death of the bunch that had come; no doubt the pack leader.

"FASTER TOOTHLESS!" Liam shouted and lay himself flat on my back to decrease air resistance to allow me to go faster. I took a deep breath readying another fireball to launch soon as we got into range…

"LIAM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" A woman's voice shouted. Cecilia swooped in front of us on her Nightmare sooty and _very_ angry. I came to sudden stop, nearly falling out of the air.

"G-General…" Liam stammered nervously.

Cecilia sighed, "We'll talk about this later. Now, go help your friends."

Liam started slightly in the saddle, "How did you-?" Cecilia tapped her comm-link.

"Geof told me hon." She said then turned her Nightmare around back into the fight. I stayed where I was in midair for a few moments before turning around back to help our friends.

"_We're going to get it after this."_ I growled.

"We'll worry about that later." Liam said, "Let's just go help the other now."

"_Right."_ I put on an extra burst of speed and shot towards where Ethan was tying to egg on a Green Death hatchling into breathing fire.

"Come on!" Ethan shouted mockingly, "What's the matter? Already out of fire? WHOA!" Ethan veered Jet out of the way just barely in time as a plume of greasy fire shot out.

"_DON'T TOUCH THEM!" _I roared launching a fireball at it sending the Green Death Hatchling spiraling down to the streets of Vancouver.

"Ethan are you okay!" Liam shouted.

"Yeah! Fine!" Ethan shouted and shot off on Jet towards Siamese, Greg, and Jean who were gassing out a particularly hungry Green Death from east district.

"Greg! Jean!" Liam shouted "Watch your backs! You've got more on your tail!" Greg and Jean heard Liam over the comm.-link and swerved Siamese out of the way leaving a stream of gas which was ignited two seconds later. I banked to the right diving over to where Sean and Wolf were engaged with another Green Death while Fred was belting out stats and strategies. They seemed to be doing alright so Liam and I went for another Green Death which was ransacking a street filled with civilians who had not yet fled the city. I landed hard on the pavement and Liam jumped off my back stumbling slightly on his landing.

"RUN!" Liam shouted to the small group of people who were all crouched behind a car. At his word the oldest of the group immediately jumped up and ran for his car followed by his fellows.

Liam turned to face the Green Death ahead of us holding his sword in front of him with both hands. I tensed ready to pounce, we were going to take this monster down together. I pounced at the same time Liam rushed forwards at it. That fight was a blur of sulfuric gas, slashing, blood, and the smell of singed hair. Soon the Green Death lay defeated at Liam's feet. He had several bleeding wounds on his arms and legs and some of his hair had been burned. Liam was completely out of breath and sweating heavily. His knees buckled and he crumpled to the asphalt.

"_Liam! Are you alright?"_ I asked concerned, the smell of his blood was nearly making me nauseous.

It took several minutes for Liam to find his voice, "Y-yeah…I'm…f-f-fine…I…I th-think…" he gasped. He coughed but thankfully no blood came out.

"_You're not alright."_ I said, _"Liam you're wounded."_ Liam glanced down at his injuries and grimaced. With some effort and several gasps and winces that made my scales itch with worry Liam pulled out one of the magic crystals he was training with.

"Toothless…can you open that fire hydrant over there?' Liam asked, "I need water."

Using my tail I was able knock off part of the fire hydrant without too much difficulty. A torrent of water arced out of the spout pooling in the street. Liam carefully lowered the crystal into the water pooling around him and murmured few well chosen words. A soft blue light shone from the crystal, water crept up Liam's injured limbs slowly healing his injuries. With a shuddering gasp Liam cut off the magic and the water fell back with a soft splashing sound. He staggered upright, his injuries in various stages of healing.

"Huh…still need to work on healing." Liam muttered frowning slightly upon seeing not all of his injuries were fully healed. He pocketed his crystal and jumped back on my back, "Come on there's still that pack leader to deal with!" he said while securing himself in to the saddle.

"_Right."_ I said, _"Don't push yourself."_

"Okay." Liam said, "Now _let's go_!" I crouched and launched myself up into the air. Most of the Green Deaths had fled back into the sea leaving only a few stragglers and the pack leader. Erika and Zephyr shot by towards the pack leader which was taking several potshots at the senior riders-and had taken several down. I let out a roar and using all the strength I could spare flew towards the pack leader as fast as I could.

_BOOM!_

I shot a fireball at the pack leader sending it spiraling down towards the ocean. It let out a roar of outrage and gave chase. I put on a burst of speed starting to lure it away from the city. Below us I could see Erika and Ethan on Zephyr and Jet catching up with us.

Liam twisted round in the saddle, "Damn that thing's faster than it looks!" I flapped my wings harder to gain speed. I didn't want the bionic tailfin catching fire even if it _was_ fire retardant.

"LOOK OUT!" Fred shouted from somewhere above us. I dove down and a plume of flames shot out above us.

"Liam! You and Toothless have to blow it up from the inside!" Fred shouted, "But don't get too close when the gas comes out-it's poisonous! You'd better put your mask on."

"Okay! Thanks Fred!" Liam shouted. I banked back around to face the Green Death pack leader. Closer up we were able to see how big it was. It was roughly the size of a tank! Ethan shot up next to us along with Erika.

"These things are pretty smart." Ethan said, "What do you think Fred? How badly will we have to piss this guy off?"

"Leave that to us!" Greg shouted as Siamese flew past, "Pissing off is my specialty!"

"Hey I thought we said _I_ was the more annoying one!" Jean retorted and immediately the twins began bickering and slapping each other silly! Erika had to fly Zephyr over and slap them both to get them back on track.

Eventually after a few tense minutes we had the Green Death Pack leader over the bay. We didn't have to hold back any longer. After ten minutes of launching fireballs and our Riders taking potshots at it the senior Riders came in.

It was then that the Green Death pack leader pounced again scattering all of us around like toys! Liam clung onto the saddle for dear life as I tried to regain control of my flight. By the time I did the Green Death was flying back to Vancouver.

"_Oh no you don't…"_ I snarled and shot towards the beast already feeling the remaining fire in my belly rise up.

"Toothless save your fire!" Liam said, "I'll handle this." I heard a metallic sound, Liam must have just conked his handgun.

"_Alright, I'm counting on you my Rider."_ I said.

"Hey, there's no need to go all _Eragon_ on me." Liam said sounding embarrassed.

"_Why? It's a good book series."_ Liam said nothing and just leaned forwards over my head. I took the hint and picked up on my speed. I swooped around in front of the Green Death pack leader and as soon as we were in range Liak let loose a volley of bullets.

_GGRROOOOOAAAWW!_ The Green Death pack leader lunged at us ferociously, I shot upwards higher into the air and the beast gave chase.

Perfect.

"Head for the ocean!" Liam shouted, "We'll finish it there!" I gave an approving growl and banked left towards the coast. Liam shouted insults at the Green Death and kept peppering it with bullets to keep it chasing us.

He might have been doing his job a little _too_ well. Liam screamed and I had to swerve sharply to avoid being swallowed by the Green Death pack leader's fire!

"_I don't think you should have called him that!"_ I said, _"We don't want that thing to roast us!"_

_GRRRAAAAAAOOOORRRR!_

"He's gaining onus Toothless!" Liam shouted, "CLIMB!" I pumped my wings to gain altitude where I could go faster. And the Green Death pack leader was right behind us. We didn't have much time left.

"Just a few more seconds…" Liam muttered he inhaled sharply, "NOW!" I whipped around sharply in the air and just as the sulfuric gas began building up in the Green Death pack leader's throat I shot a fireball into its maw.

It choked on the flames, falling bursting into flames, and exploded on impact against the water. Just like how Hiccup and I had brought down the Red Death. The explosion sent up a huge column of water soaking everything within a two mile radius. Liam and I weren't spared from the drenching. I wobbled in midair but after a few moments I was able to regain my balance.

Liam was panting for air and coughing, "D-did…do we do it Toothless?" he asked, "Is it gone?"

"_It's gone."_ I said, _"We did it."_ I also was utterly relieved that this fight didn't end with Liam falling off-I never wanted to experience that…when Hiccup had fallen off my back and towards the fire after felling the Red Death…ever again. Liam let out a shaky gasp of relief.

"Let's get back to the ground…" He said, "I think I'm about to be airsick." I glided back down to earth slowly and landed on the docks with a slight bump. Liam stumbled off my back, bolted over to the edge of the pier and was immediately sick. I was at his side in an instant.

"_Will you be alright Liam?"_ I asked. Liam spat then taking several gulps straightened.

"Yeah." Liam said, "Just need something to settle my stomach." He sat down on the pier holding his stomach, "Just…need to rest for a while…"

"LIIIIAAAAM!" Zephyr landed hard on the pier at the same time Erika jumped off and ran over to us. Liam stood up so fast he swayed and nearly fell over. In the span of three seconds Erika had Liam in one of her famous near rib crunching hugs.

"Auuugh!" Liam grunted as he was hugged, "Erika…Can't…Breathe…" Erika let him go.

"Sorry!" Erika said blushing a little.

A few seconds later everyone else landed on the pier. Ethan and Arthur were the first ones over followed by Fred, Jean, Greg, and Sean.

"What happened up there?" Arthur asked, "There was this huge explosion, the Green Death plummeted into the bay and now everyone's all wet."

"Oh…uhh…" Liam faltered as he tried to find the words, "Toothless blew it up from the inside using one of his plasma fireballs. The Green Death must have exploded on impact when it hit the water."

"Consider yourself lucky Liam." Ethan said, "Most people get scorched in these situations, you just got all wet."

"But they have to deal with the press." Sean said jerking his thumb over his shoulder." Several people with microphones and cameras came rushing over, within seconds were surrounded by them.

I won't go into any details because it was rather crazy. Add to the fact that we all got suspended from the academy only made things even crazier. No good deed goes unpunished. However, because we did help save Vancouver the suspension was shortened slightly and we would all be formally awarded at the end of the month.

We were all back in New Berk in front of the Ski Shak. After a rather worried welcoming committee of our Rider's parents and a few lectures they had all come for some coffee. I was at the drinking area for the Dragons (thankfully this time there was no tequila in the water) Liam and the others were sitting around one of the outdoor café tables all sipping cups of iced coffee. They were all worn out from the press' attention.

"Aghhh…" Ethan groaned, "I used to want to be famous but after that…I think I'd rather not…" He took a long sip from his coffee.

"Ugh…you had it easy…" Liam groaned slumped on the table already having finished his coffee, "They kept bombarding me with questions and I think my face has been plastered all over the world on every news channel…"

"_My eyes still hurt Daddy…"_ Zephyr said rubbing at her eyes with her paw.

"_Don't rub at your eyes like that, you might scratch them out_._"_ I said nudging her paw away from her face. My eyes were still stinging too from all the flash photography. That was one thing I did not like about being so well known. I don't mind the odd photo with a child whose visiting but any cameras for the public media? No.

Erika took a gulp from her coffee, "I can't stand the press…" she grumbled, "They ask so many weird questions…" Arthur nodded in agreement before finishing off his coffee.

"_Ahhh…I agree with them…"_ Lenneth said taking a drink of water, _"Those Humans asked Erika and Liam some rather personal things…"_

"_How does being friends make two people lovers to them?"_ Scout asked from the spout.

"_The camera just LOVES drama."_ Ventus grunted.

A few hours later after all the coffee had been drunk we all headed home. Zephyr, Jet, and I landed in the pastures. Soon as Liam slid off Alicia and Bill came out-with a chocolate cake with glaze and candles.

"The cake in oven burned." Alicia said, "So…while you were all out at the Ski Shak I made another one." She held it out for Liam, "Happy Birthday Liam."

"OHMIGOD!" Erika yelped, "Liam! It's your birthday today! We were going to have a surprise birthday party for you! But with all the craziness that happened…"

"For me..?" Liam asked blinking, "I…I don't know what to say…I've…I've never had a birthday cake before…"

"Just think of a wish and blow the candles out." Bill said, "You can call your friends up and hang out here for the night." Liam took the cake focused hard for a good minute and took a deep breath.

"I…wish…" he started.

"_Liam, don't say it out loud."_ I said, _"Otherwise it won't come true."_ Liam nodded. Then he screwed his face up and after a few seconds blew out the candles.

Erika and Ethan called their friends to come and eat some birthday cake. We all hung out outside in the pastures eating cake and ice cream. Well…the Humans did, I still remember the messy results of eating s'mores when I first came over to New Berk. I did like the taste of chocolate but I couldn't digest it properly. But I could eat marshmallows, but only the jumbo sized ones. It drives Aria crazy every time I get a craving for marshmallows.

"I never would've thought of this." Hiccup said (Liam had let him come out for a few hours), "Putting…Glmmph…this into a cake. Mmm… what's it called again..Oh…Ka-loo…ha?"

"Gives the cake a more chocolaty taste," Ethan said gulping down a mouthful of cake followed by a spoonful of ice cream, "It's one of those secret ingredients."

"I tried using it in brownies once." Erika said, "But it ended up as "safe-to-eat-brownie-batter."

"You cooked _Brownies_?" Hiccups gasped shocked.

Upon seeing Hiccup's reaction Erika quickly explained she was talking about a type of pastry.

The evening went by slowly after a few presents that everyone had cobbled together. Sean's was one of the best; he had gotten Liam new Kendo equipment so he wouldn't have to barrow the sets from the academy all the time. The other presents were mainly gift cards and new jackets. Ethan got Liam a t-shirt that said "Don't mess with me, I'm Irish" on the back. Erika had given a new set of riding gloves. Greg and Jean got Liam a gift card to the music store. Fred gave Liam the latest Dragon Manual. Arthur got Liam a new trek jacket, a blue one. I think Liam liked Erika's gift the best.

He clearly wasn't going to give up on Erika, but now he was more accepting of that fact that Erika and Arthur were so to speak boyfriend and girlfriend. I could just tell, but now I was starting to sense some confusion from Erika, like she was somehow on some precarious position between Liam and Arthur.

It was rather late when Greg, Jean, Fred, Sean, and Arthur left for their homes. Erika, Ethan, and Liam stayed outside with me, Aria, and our hatchlings for a few hours. We just watched the stars for a time. So much had happened today, it was nice the day could end on a peaceful note. Liam was leaning back against my side between my shoulder and wing joints half asleep. I had my wings folded over him to keep him from being chilled by the winter night air.

In the quiet of the late night I had also just remembered something…

This was also the same day Hiccup had died. Over eleven hundred years ago…My heart clenched slightly at the memory of that day. I looked over at Liam, half asleep against my side, and I smiled slightly. This day would no longer bring such unbearable pain to me, now that I knew this was the day Liam was born.

"I'm exhausted!" Erika said getting up and yawning loudly, "I'm going to hit the sack now…G'night."

"Night sis…" Ethan said also yawning, "C'mon Liam let's get to bed." Ethan gently shook Liam awake. Liam grunted slightly then yawned and stretched before getting up.

"Good night Toothless." Liam said hugging me, "I'll see you in the morning."

"_Sleep well Liam."_ I purred softly.

But sleep would take some time to come to the inhabitants of the ranch. Just when Erika, Ethan, and Liam were about to go inside, Alicia burst out looking both afraid and extremely happy, she was panting for air and starting at Ethan and Erika like she was trying to say something very important.

"Mum?" Erika asked, "Mum what is it?"

It took a moment for Alicia to get her voice back, "C-Colonel…Yu-Colonel Yuri called…" She said, "He said his crew thinks they have found where your dad is. He said..."We think we know where Edmund is"."

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**kay so the "news about Edmund" didn't come untilt he very very end, but after a few trial shots at this chapter (I am such a perfectionist which is why it takes a while to get new chapter sup along with all my homework to do (sadly it is more important) I foiund that it worked better for the "OH!" factor.**

**As for the OScars, shame that HTTYD didn't win but at least HTTYD pulled a "Lord of the Rings" at the Annies. anyways congrats to Toy Story 3 for winning best animated feature and best original song. *puts on prom dress and claps***

**Well, it's starting to get late so...Where exactly has Colonel Yuri';s team have found Edmund's location? Why haven't they been able to locate him for so long? Find that out and more in the next chpater: Chapter Sixteen: The Sheran.**

**-Edit- Okay so due to that painfully long wait some of you may have forgotten who Edmund is. Just to remind you he is Erika and Ethan's dad.**

**Good night and see you soon!**

**Chocobo Scribe signing off!**


	17. Chapter Sixteen: The Sheran

**Okay after the twon month wait I put you through between chapters 14 and 15 I made myself a deadline for this chapter and made it. *punches air triumphantly* however there may be a bit of a wait for chapter seventeen becasue of school-I need to keep my grades up and essays MURDER ME. D:.**

**Anyways, I just got the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 DVD and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, both are very good and I eagerly await summer so my buddies and I can go to the midnight premeire of deathly hallows part 2 they'd better show Kreacher leading the house elves into battle and Percy shouting "I WAS A FOOL!" or I will be very grumpy. Schoolwise I have two midterms coming up and three essays to work on thank god one of them is under 1000 words...Gamerwise I'm just pushing through my other games and trying to make up my mind on if I should upgrade from DS original to 3DS for the next Kingdom Hearts game and trying to figure out the coding on RPG MAker VX for my Legacies of Nova scheme and trying to scheme up an animated sircom to kill off the Twilight Hype.**

**my random ass ramblings are done. Pleae enjoy the chapter as usual, read and review or Toothless will GRRR!**

**Standard disclaimers apply**

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**Chapter Sixteen: The Sheran**

I was completely shocked still, two days later after all the craziness of Night Fury mating season. There was a chance, however slim, that Dad might still be alive somewhere. But why had it taken so long for Dad to be located? Colonel Yuri said that they thought Dad might be somewhere near Iceland, on one of the surrounding islands. That was going to be a problem…Iceland and the surrounding area was totally uninhabitable, except for Dragon Island, which is known to be the safest place in the world, the whole area was crawling with monsters and Zombies.

I could barely think straight and already I was starting to form some semblance of a semblance of a plan. I began wondering if anyone would even pilot and airship to Iceland. Commercial airships were out of the question but maybe…

_I wonder if old Dalen is still in business…_I thought. I rolled off my bed and booted up my computer and logged into Skype. I clicked on Dalen's work website link and clicked on "call".

_Mom's not gonna like this…But I've got to do this._ I thought. I had to wait for several minutes until the loading was done, sometimes the internet connection can get a little laggy in the mountains. I tapped my desk impatiently while the connection loaded. I leaned back in my seat and upside down I saw Ethan come into my room.

"Whatcha doin now Erika?" He asked. I righted myself in my seat and twisted around to face him.

"I'm giving Old Dalen a call." I said.

Ethan looked at me slightly suspicious, "Why do you need an airship?" I didn't answer, "It's about Dad isn't it?" I just gave him a look from the corner of my eye.

"And if it is?" I asked.

"How much do you need?" Ethan asked.

"Let's see what Old Dalen asks for first." I said, "Then you can go raid your piggy bank." I turned back to face the screen and finally the connection got through and a few seconds later one of Dalen's engineers came on screen.

"Hullo, Dalen's Magic Carpet Enterprises, I'm Joshua. How may I help you?" Joshua said in a bored voice and mostly looking at his e-reader no doubt reading the latest e-issue of _Shonen Jump_.

"I need to rent a private airship, and I need to talk to Dalen." I said, "And don't read _Shonen Jump when talking to customer you git!"_ Joshua jumped in his seat fumbling to hid his e-reader.

"H-how-how did you know I was reading _Shonen Jump_?" he stammered.

"I…I didn't." I said.

"You're psychic you know that chick?" Joshua said sounding very grumpy, "Dalen's busy, you'll have to talk to me sweet cheeks."

"First of all don't use pick up names for me." I said "I'm already seeing someone." Though now I didn't know if Arthur and I were officially "boyfriend and girlfriend" especially after that near disaster where Liam saw me kiss Arthur, "Second, I HAVE to talk to Old Dalen and I might tell him not only were you reading _Shonen Jump_ on the job you were also _flirting_ on the job-which I am VERY sure goes against code of conduct."

Joshua blanched and went a nasty color of green, "You _wouldn't_..." He gasped I glared at him with all the evilness I could muster, "I-I'll…I'll go get him…" he sidled out of the cameras view. I turned to face Ethan.

"You are despicable." Ethan said but he was smiling, he was clearly impressed.

"Why thank you." I said then turned back to the screen, Joshua had just reappeared.

"Dalen will be with you in ten minutes, he just needs to wrap things up with another customer." He said.

"Okay, I'll wait." I said. Joshua let out a "whew!" then picked up his e-reader and stuffed it under the desk then left. I spun mu chair around to face Ethan again.

"You think Dalen will do it?" I asked, "He's done crazy stuff before."

"What crazy stuff?" Liam's voice asked from my bedroom door. He walked in looking at me questionably. Great…I was going to have to explain myself. If I didn't Liam would just get all worrywart over me and pester me until I told him.

Yes, I am fully aware of the fact he seems to have fallen head over heels for me.

"I'm hiring an airship." I said, "I need the craziest so I'm calling Old Dalen." I spun the chair around to make sure my computer hadn't fallen asleep.

"Why do you need the craziest?" Liam asked a very slight edge of worry creeping into his voice.

"We're going to find our Dad." Ethan said, "Col. Yuri's guys said they think he's somewhere around Iceland, but that's a no-man's land now. Old Dalen's probably the only one crazy enough to fly in there."

Liam said nothing; at least he wasn't raising any objections. He stayed silent for a few more minutes then said, "What can I do?"

"We'll tell you after I'm done talking to Dalen." I said.

Soon Dalen sidled into the camera's view. He was a slightly wizened and wiry with three strands of grey hair on his head combed carefully as if he was hoping they would conceal his baldness.

"So…Joshua tells me you need my services." Dalen said chewing at his cigarette.

"Yes." I said.

"What god forsaken place do you need to go to m'dear?" Dalen said a spark kindling in his eyes-exactly what I needed.

"In the mood for going to Iceland?" I asked. Dalen's cigarette dropped from his lips.

"Iceland?" He asked eyes widening. Before he could say anything else I started talking again.

"Ethan and I, our dad might be there, we need to get there as soon as possible." I said, "and since most the airspace of the Atlantic Ocean is really fallout heavy…we need an airship."

Dalen closed his mouth and leaned back in his seat scratching his head with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Let me just finish up today's jobs." Dalen said, "And day after next, you kids and your buddies come over to my hanger on your Dragons. I'll dust off my baby _The Sheran_ it's been a while since she got flown."

"How much do you want?" I asked, "I'll pay whatever you ask."

Dalen frowned thinking hard.

"Can I have the giant Night Fury plushie?" Dalen asked. I nearly fell out of my chair!

"WHAT!" I bleated sounding not too unlike a goat, "You just want the giant Night Fury plushie!"

"I need it to finish my collection!" Dalen wailed then the camera spun around violently to show shelves upon shelves of Dragon Plushies.

"That is an impressive collection." Liam said slowly obviously _very_ impressed.

The camera swung back to Dalen, "Of course…if you want to give me money I'll have to charge ten big ones, but…"

"Okay, okay! We'll give you the giant plushie and add in five hundred dollars." I said.

Dalen smiled and snapped his fingers, "We're in business Miss Haroldson. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Old Dalen sure is weird…" Ethan said, "But at least we saved some money…Now we just need to explain to Gramps why we suddenly need the giant plushie."

"I'll buy the plushie." Liam said, "Then you two can rake up the cash we need and we'll be on our way."

"Okay," I said, "Just hope you have enough money Liam that plushie's a bit expensive." Liam nodded saying that he did and ran off to his room. Ethan and I did the same by going to our rooms and pulling out our life's savings. Together we were able to scrape up enough and still have some leftover to avoid any unusual questions. Now if only we could avoid unusual questions while we got ready.

If I knew Old Dalen well enough he'd go across the country stop in Toronto for gas then continue over the Atlantic to Iceland. With his ship _The Sheran_ I figured it would take at least a day.

"Sis can you get to the store?' Ethan asked, "We need more batteries for our flashlights."

"Sure, I'll also pick up some more ammo for our guns from the academy too." I said, "Keep packing and STAY AWAY FROM MY CLOSET or I swear I'll kill you!" I dashed downstairs slowing to a walk when I passed the kitchen but Mom and Gramps were so absorbed in talking to Col. Yuri on Skype that they didn't notice me.

I did catch a few things they said though…

"So…You're sure Edmund's in Iceland?" Mom asked.

"No doubt about it." Col. Yuri said in a slight lisping voice, "We received a brief distress signal from that area as well as some very odd signals as well..."

"What kind?" Gramps asked.

"We…we don't know only that…"

I was outside and their voices were cut off. I got some supplies from the grocery store and some batteries as well. When I got to the academy to pick up some ammo from the cadet storehouse I ran into Arthur.

"Erika?" He asked after seeing me in the storehouse, "What are you doing? We don't have training for the next few days."

"Target practice." I said trying to come up with some explanation on the spot-which I was horrible at, especially whenever I was in front of Arthur.

"Target practice?" Arthur said skeptically, "Tell me the truth Erika."

"No really." I said my voice faltering slightly, "Ethan and I are gonna do some target practice so I got some bullets…"

"Don't we all use rubber bullets for target practice?" Arthur asked suspiciously. I decided I would just have to walk away and think up an explanation later. I started to walk past Arthur, but he grabbed me by the back of my jacket and held on-now I suddenly remembered how good his grip was.

"Erika, I know when you're lying, especially when it's to me." He said, "We trust each other don't we?"

I groaned in defeat and told Arthur everything.

Much to my surprise he was actually all for going-despite the fact we were all still suspended from the Academy. Under _most_ circumstances he'd try to keep a perfect record.

"Besides," Arthur said, "Any government attempt to rescue your dad will take _forever_. If it's us, we can get in and get out _much_ quicker."

"You do have a point." I said.

"I'll see if I can get some money together for Dalen then how about I tell Fred, Sean, Greg, and Jean?"

"Sure, Greg and Jean will need _some_ adrenaline input." I said, "I'll let Liam and Ethan know." We split up there planning on meeting at the Air Port. I got back home and was greeted by Toothless.

"Hey Toothless feel up to a rescue mission?" I asked. Toothless gave me a quizzical look. While I did enjoy trying to guess what he was trying to say I will admit I was a tad bit jealous of Gramps and Liam being able to understand him.

"Col. Yuri's guys think they might have found Dad." I said, "They think he's somewhere near Iceland." Toothless suddenly gave me a much more serious look and nodded. I was actually a little surprised that Toothless would agree to such a dangerous trip. Maybe things were too sedate for Toothless compared to how things were in Hiccup's time.

"So, you rarin to go or what?" I asked. Toothless nodded then jerked his head over to where Aria and his hatchlings were, "Gonna talk things over with the Misses?" I asked Toothless grunted an affirmative and padded away to his paddock. I dashed back inside making sure no one was in the kitchen before dashing upstairs to meet Ethan and Liam.

"I got some supplies," I said, "And it looks like we might have the rest of us coming too." I added.

"You mean, the guys are coming too?" Ethan asked.

"Arthur's coming?" Liam asked, did I detect jealousy in his voice? I nodded not making eye contact with Liam, I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but I think I was feeling a bit guilty.

"So," Ethan said in an obviously transparent attempt to change the subject, "Shall we get packing?"

"Yes, let's." I said and escaped to my bedroom. I closed the door behind my back and sagged against it.

Why was I feeling so guilty? We had gotten past that fiasco where Liam saw me kiss Arthur. Or was it the fact Arthur and I were thinking of each other as boyfriend and girlfriend now? Lately I hadn't been able to make eye contact with Liam without my ears getting hot. I gave myself a sobering slap on my cheeks.

_Focus girl! It's just your imagination. You are Arthur's girlfriend, you have a thing going. _I thought trying and somewhat failing to reassure myself, _Maybe I can help Liam find a girlfriend later…_I grabbed my duffle bag and started packing some clothes and other supplies into my bag. Food, I was sure we could get from the Air Port and Dalen usually provides food on his airships. I hear his baked beans and spicy sausage is supposedly legendary.

I zipped my duffle bag shut now posed with a new problem. How was I going to explain the duffle bag to Mom and Gramps? I could throw my bag out the window but the kitchen was directly below my room and if Mom and Gramps didn't see it David defiantly would.

I thought about it while getting dressed for the much colder climate of Iceland: a long sleeved trek shirt, my short sleeved sweater, jacket, pants, boots, and utility belt.

I was going to have to make something up with my horrible fibbing skills. Maybe I could just stretch the truth, going to the Air Port wasn't too unusual for us neither was flying off for a few days…With that in mind I shouldered my duffle bag and left my room just in time to see Liam hoisting up his own duffle bag. He was wearing his trek jacket and black ski cap. The same clothes he was wearing when I found him passed out in the woods. My face started to grow hot…

"I got everything!" Ethan said coming out of his room with his duffle bag slung across his back, "So what now?"

"We go to the Air Port." I said and started downstairs followed by Liam and Ethan. We passed the kitchen right when Mom came out rubbing her eyes from staring at the computer screen too long. I came to a sudden stop and Liam walked right into me.

"Mom!" I bleated already all my panic sensors going off.

"Erika?" Mom said then she saw Ethan and Liam behind me on the stairs, "Why are you all packed up? Are you three going somewhere?"

"We…I…we…were…uh…" I stammered I thought I was going to have to give everything away when Liam came to the rescue.

"We're going on fly around the area." He said, "It might take a day or two so we decided to pack up just in case."

"Is that so?" Mom said slowly.

She didn't believe us.

"If you're going to look for your Dad, there is going to be a few conditions." She said. And Gramps walked in also with a duffle bag slung over his back.

"Geof will be coming too," Gramps said, "And Drakke as well."

"Wait…you're still letting us go?" I asked completely taken by surprise. Mom just gave us a weak smile.

"You have every right." Mom said, "I would go to, but somebody's got to hold down the fort." She added with a little laugh. There were all the Night Fury eggs to look after.

"Thanks Mom." Ethan said.

"So," Grams said, "Which idiot is flying us out to Iceland and how much did he or she charge?"

"Old Dalen," I said.

"And he charged five hundred dollars and the giant Night Fury plushie." Liam added.

Gramps burst out laughing, "Yes, that's Old Dalen alright, there's a spare Night Fury plushie in the storage room, you can go get it."

I moved aside for Liam who ran down the stairs saying he'd go get the giant plushie. Ethan and I followed to wait for Liam. I set down my duffle bag on the floor. I was actually surprised that Mom and Grandpa actually were agreeing to this. I had to ask.

"Why?" I asked turning to face Gramps, "Why are you and Mom letting us go look for Dad?" Gramps looked at Ethan and I like the answer should have been obvious but easily overlooked.

"He's your dad;" Gramps said simply, "You two have every right. Besides, this is the first lead we've had on your dad's whereabouts…" he looked slightly wistful, "I just hope my boy's alright…"

"Well, if anyone can get us to Iceland it's Old Dalen." Ethan said, "He can take off and land anywhere in all kinds of weather!"

"Aren't you exaggerating a bit dear?" Mom asked chuckling slightly.

Liam poked his head into the door at that moment saving Ethan a reply, "I got the plushie, is everyone ready?"

"Yeah," Ethan said quickly walking over to the door, "Let's get going we don't have time to lose."

"Ethan!" I shouted picking up my duffle bag following him out the door followed by Gramps and Mom. Liam had the giant Night Fury Plushie laid out beside him and Toothless. He had already gotten his duffle bag attached to Toothless' saddle.

"Are we meeting everyone else at the Air Port?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, Arthur said he'd contact the guys." I said, "I'll get Zephyr saddled up and I'll be ready to go." I rushed over to the shed to get Zephyr's saddle and after getting her saddled up attached my duffle bag to the saddle. While I was doing that I saw Gramps saddling Coal up.

"You're gonna ride Coal?" I asked I would've thought that Coal would be too…immature for something so serious.

"He's not _that_ childish Erika." Gramps said, "Besides…I just have this feeling that Coal might be needed." He frowned as he said this, clearly he was thinking we were headed for trouble. Coal made a curious crooning sound flicking one of his ears in a very adorable way. Gramps turned to face him scratching him between the ears.

"Don't worry too much Coal," he said, "It's about time you got to see places other than New Berk."

A half hour later after saying goodbye to Mom we all took off and met Arthur, Fred, Greg, Jean, and Sean a third of the way to the Air Port. Chief met us at the Air Port ten minutes later with Drakke, Chief's Gronkle Maryweather (yes he really did name her that I kid you not) was expecting some eggs and had to stay behind in New Berk, so Drakke volunteered to give Chief a ride.

"Ah, hallo there kiddies!" Chief said cheerily, "So we off ta find yer Dad eh?"

"Yep." Ethan said, "We're going straight into Iceland."

"Whoa…" Sean said, "You mean…you were serious Arthur!" almost bleating, "That's like…the Mutant's home turf!"

"Sounds AWSOME!" Greg said, "Finally some REAL action!"

"I'll take out more mutants than you Greg!" Jean said which resulted in she and Greg slapping each other silly five seconds later. Some people stared at them frowning or stopping to record a video for YouTube.

"OI!" Chief shouted startling not only Greg and Jean but just about everyone within earshot, "Stop makin' idiots of yerselves and let's get goin and find Ol' Dalen!"

"Yes sir." Greg and Jean both said at the same time.

We headed for the private airship docks to look for Old Dalen and sure enough there he was, straw hat, Hawaiian shirt, aviator's scarf, tattered kahkis, and leather sandals standing out starkly against the small crowd of private airship charterers. He was even attracting a few stares from this rich old couple a few gates down to the left.

"Oooooiiiii!" Old Dalen shouted jumping up and down and waving his arms like a human windmill, "Over here fellas! I aint got all day y'know!" His ship _The Sheran_ was docked at the gate behind him in all her rusty glory.

"What a piece of junk…" Liam said sounding slightly horrified.

"That ship's been thorugh things you can't even imagine." Gramps said, "I've flown in it, it's never fallen out of the sky…yet…"

It took some time to get our luggage on _The Sheran_ not only because instead of stowing our bags in a compartment we'd be getting cabins, but because Old Dalen insisted on giving us a tour of the whole ship.

_The Sheran_ is like a flying house. There are six cabins for passengers, a galley, a mess hall, a Dragon Bay, sick bay, and finally the engine and bridge. Ethan and I would be sharing a cabin, then Greg and Jean, Fred and Sean, Arthur and Liam (though Liam didn't look too happy about that), finally Gramps and Chief shared a cabin.

Drakke was too big for the Dragon bay so he'd have to fly the whole way and change altitude whenever we flew into fallout heavy airspace. The good news was that Drakke had very good stamina and could go almost twelve hours without stopping-though he'd be bone tired after doing that. The other good news was that the roof of _The Sheran_ could support Drakke's weight so when needed Drake could catch a second wind

"…And that concludes the tour ladies and gentlemen and Dragons." Old Dalen said, "Now, let's get this flying hunk of junk airborne."

"Even Dalen calls it a hunk of junk." Liam said turning to face Gramps.

"SHE!" Dalen shouted so sharply Liam jumped right onto Gramps' toes, "SHE is a hunk of junk."

"She?" Liam asked looking confused.

"Ships are referred to as "she" when not using the name." Fred said, "Never found out why though…."

Finally all of us except for Chief he would be co-piloting were all mounted on our Dragons ready for take off.

"You all ready!" Dalen shouted from the bridge. Ethan shouted back that we were. The engines of _The Sheran_ revved up and the propellers kicked in as the airship slowly lifted off the ground. Zephyr crouched low and took off followed by the others. Drakke waited until there was enough room then spread out his enormous wings to their full span and launched up into the air with a powerful downward thrust that caused a huge gust of wind below.

It had to be the furthest we ever flew. We were able to fly over most of British Columbia and part of Alberta. We then had to fly over the next province and a half in _The Sheran_ while Drakke went up higher into thinner air to avoid the fallout.

"Nice ship." Liam said while we were in the mess hall having lunch, "You could almost live here."

"But you'd have to refuel often." I said, "And airship fuel isn't cheap." Old Dalen had turned on the auto pilot and was now in the galley busy cooking up a storm. Not only is Old Dalen one of the best pilots in west Canada, he's also quite an excellent cook-especially when it comes to Indian food. Dalen came out of the galley and put down a huge plate of chicken tikka marsala down on the table.

"So how long until we get to Iceland?" Greg asked, "I'm bored…"

"Well," Old Dalen said calculating on his fingers, "We should get to Newfoundland by nightfall, then since I have to have enough fuel to get back, four days once we're over the Atlantic."

"It'll take that long?" Fred asked.

"Well, my baby isn't exactly brand new y'know." Old Dalen said, "And because airship fuel is expensive, and we'll be less noticeable to the Mutants. The engines are pretty loud and if the engines are too loud we'll be Mutant food."

"Good reason." Arthur said. Greg and Jean weren't so happy.

"So?" Jean asked through a mouthful of nann bread, "We can fight Mutants we've got Dragons."

"And guns, and explosives, and Liam's got his sword and we've got Drakke." Greg said.

"And those Mutants are almost as big as that Red Death skeleton at the museum on Dragon Island." Old Dalen said, "If we stay in the ship we'll be safer, good thing I got the starboard guns fixed and added a bazooka." Greg's eyes lit up at the mention of the bazooka.

"When will we be out of the fallout space?" Sean asked, "Wolf's getting antsy down int eh Dragon Bay."

"Ten more ariel miles," Old Dalen said, "Then five miles after that you kids can all go outside."

"But once we're over the ocean," Gramps said, "There'll be less chances for that so we need to restock on food and water at Newfoundland."

We flew over forests and wastelands on our way to Newfoundland both in _The Sheran_ and on Dragonback. The weather was freezing cold, but at least it wasn't snowing yet. It was almost nightfall, just as Old Dalen predicted, when we got to Newfoundland. _The Sheran_ was docked at a refueling station and more barrels of fuel were being loaded on board. Since it would take a few hours Old Dalen had us go get some more food from the nearby warehouse store.

One hour later after splitting up into teams divvied up by way of rock-paper-scissors Liam, Ethan, and I finished our list.

"Okay, that's everything." Liam said, "Pasta…rice…chicken…coffee…bread…peanut butter…" He read the rest of the list quietly before he was sure we had everything we needed. He put the list back into his pocket.

"Okay let's get to the check out line!" Ethan said then gave the cart a tremendous push before jumping up to ride it down the aisle. I rolled my eyes and gave chase. The last time Ethan did that he crashed into a display of canned food and caused an avalanche of cream of mushroom soup. I was not about to let a repeat of that disastrous episode occur.

"Ethan! Be careful!" I shouted as Ethan pulled a hairpin turn into the main asile.

As if I jinxed it, there was a sudden yelp, the sound of a shopping cart crashing to the floor and a very angry female voice screaming in protest. I rounded the corner to find Ethan sprawled on the floor next to the tipped over shopping cart and a very angry looking middle aged woman. She had bright green eyes and dark blonde hair, but she had this wild look in her face. It was like she had been living in the wilderness for some time or a really bad area of town. But what really got my attention was this strange metallic smell and this odd butterfly shaped rash on her face.

"YOU LITTLE BUGGER! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING! DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW! OH SHE PROBABLY DOES!" The woman shrieked so loudly she was making other shoppers stare, "I'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON! I TAUGHT MY SON LESSONS ALL THE TIME AND WHAT DID HE DO! HE RAN AWAY!"

"I can see why…" Ethan said, "I said I was sorry geez…" he rubbed his head as he started to get up.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Liam. I turned around to face him to see that all color had drained from his face.

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**If you've been keeping up and remember past chapters you should be able to guess who the very angry lady is.**

**I almost commited a HUGE blunder in this chapter. Since I'm American I only know a handful of British and Canadian expressions (mostly from reading Harry Potter and watching Merlin-two reasons to love England) both of which are similar. where Erika says "Wouldn't stop pestering" I originally had written "Wouldn't stop bugging" then I found out that saying "bugging" in england or Canada is the same as saying the f word here in America. go culture.**

**Anway in the next chapter Liam will have to face some of his demons, this may take time to flesh out it's another scene I want to do properly and just plain badassery doesn't always work for me sometimes I need to do the total opposite.**

**Hope to see you soon for Chapter Seventeen: Crash**

**Chocobo_Scribe signing off!**


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Crash

**UGH! *curls into a fetal position to avoid tomatoes* I'm sorry! It's been 5 months and I left you on a big cliffhanger! This chapter was incredibly hard to write and I couldn't think straight over the summer! Now that I'm back in school, I can think straight now. I can;t promise weekly updates but they won;t take 5 months I will assure you that unless I have VERY good reason to go on a 5 month hiatus. anyway...on to the story and of you forgor everything stop right now and come back later when you're all caught up.**

**I also will warn you that this chapter will have some slightly graphic content.**

**Read and Review or Toothless will GRRR!**

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**Chapter Seventeen: Crash**

I couldn't believe it. She was here. My mother. I didn't know what to do; help Ethan or stay put. I was just frozen in place in a complete stupor until I felt Erika give me a gentle shove.

"Liam. Get out of here." She said, "I'll handle this. Meet me and Ethan at the entrance in ten minutes." I stumbled backwards from the shove but managed to get my footing back.

"_Uhhh…Liam?"_ Hiccup asked sounding worried, _"What's going on?"_ I didn't answer. Erika pulled out her tazer from one of her many back pockets and slowly made her way towards Ethan and my mother who were drawing a rather large crowd.

I couldn't let Erika do this alone. What if she got hurt? What if…I couldn't finish that next thought. I darted forward catching hold of her wrist. Erika stopped and turned her head slightly to look at me.

"Liam…go!" she hissed, "I'll be fine. Ethan and I are more than a match for her." Then shook my hand my hand off and started to go towards Ethan and my mother again. I grabbed her hand again.

"No…Erika…Please." I said and all the other words I was going to say got lost halfway to my mouth.

"Liam…Get-to-the-entrance." Erika said tensely.

It would've been better if I had listened to her in the first place. My mother noticed us.

"YOU!" She screamed, then she forgot about Ethan and rushed at Erika and me. I froze, terrified. I didn't know what to do run or be the hero and try to protect Erika.

"YOU LITTLE BUGGER! AND YOUU!" she screamed at Erika, "YOU LITTLE BRAT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SON!"

Erika shoved me back with all the strength she could muster-which meant I was sent stumbling backwards several feet. I would've fallen flat on my back if someone hadn't caught me.

"Steady lad." A strong sounding male voice said as a pair or large hands gripped my shoulders almost lifting me off my feet then set me down. The man walked past me and the first thing that I could think of was that he was someone's body guard. He had the black suit, white shirt, tie, boots, and to top it off, sun glasses and an ear piece that FBI agents and the Secret Service wear. He had blonde hair tied into a pony tail, a very solid almost pro boxer sort of build, a short beard, and…very strange smelling cologne. At least I thought it was cologne-if there is ozone smelling cologne.

Then I remembered what had just happened.

"Erika!" I bleated and reaching for my sword tried to run to her aid but the body guard held out an arm to stop me.

"I will help your friend." He said, "Stay here."

"But-!" I said. I couldn't let Erika get hurt I had to help her! I tried to get past the bodyguard but he was able to hold me back very easily, like I was a little kid.

Meanwhile Erika was struggling to keep my mother back.

"You….nggghhh….get one step past me…." Erika grunted, "And I'll kick your ass!"

"LITTLE BITCH!" my mother shouted then shoved Erika down to the floor, "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Then rushed forward at me and the body guard.

"ERIKA!" I shouted then ducked under the man's arm and rushed towards Erika. I almost made it to her when I was tackled and pinned to the floor by my mother.

What happened next was a blur. I was being pummeled repeatedly in the face, the chest, the stomach. Someone in the crowd yelling to get the police, Erika and the bodyguard trying to get her off me, someone was trying to pull me away, my nose was bleeding and I was crying…begging her to stop; begging her to remember how she loved me and Dad; that I still loved her; to find a doctor or someone who could help her…then…it stopped.

"YOU BITCH!" Greg's voice shouted from somewhere nearby, "NOBODY hurts our friends and gets away with it!"

"…Right in the middle of a crowd…" a woman's voice said, "…Poor boy…"

Everything was a blur of darkness and color, my head was spinning from the beating I had just gone through. I was faintly aware of the man with the weird cologne supporting me in a sitting position and Ethan and Erika on all fours in front of me.

"Hey Liam," Ethan said, "Can you hear me?" then held up his hand, "How many fingers am I holding up?" I tried to focus on his fingers as I slid in and out of consciousness.

"Two?" I guessed in a slurred voice then all went black.

I woke up back in my cabin on the Sheran. I was in bed, very sore, but clean and warm under a thick layer of blankets. I was wrapped up in bandages along with something on the bridge of my nose. No one was in my room I wondered where they were but it made my head hurt so I tried to stop thinking.

"_Liam?" _Hiccup said, _"Are you going to be alright?"_

_I don't know…_All I could think of right now was about Mom. Where was she? Was she going to be put in jail? Tears flooded my eyes and even though no one was there to see me cry I rolled over lying face down on my pillow hoping it would muffle the sound.

"_Liam…"_

_Just leave me alone…_

Hiccup didn't respond but I could tell I had his every feeling of sympathy and because I could feel it too, it made a big difference. I lay there for what felt like hours crying my eyes and heart out until I was half asleep.

I came back to full awareness when the door opened and I smelled baked beans and warm bread rolls. I sat up to see Arthur come in holding a tray of food. A bowl of the baked beans and bread I smelled and a cup of juice.

"I thought you might be hungry." Arthur said setting the tray down on the table next to my bed, "Erika's in the dining room." He said answering the question I was about to ask, "I'm not sure what she's doing but I think she was pretty shaken by what just happened."

"Is…is she alright?" I asked thickly rubbing the grit from my eyes.

"Not sure…" Arthur said worriedly looking out the window, "She's a strong girl. She won't take crap from anyone. But this might have been a bit much for her…" He sighed and rested his chin in hands leaning forwards.

"Why…why did you two start dating?" I asked impulsively. Okay, okay I get it I'm jealous.

"I liked her, she liked me." Arthur said, "It was just one of those things. We met when we were six, right after I arrived in new Berk from England. She was one of those people you can become friends with very quickly. Next thing we knew were friends, then when we got older we just wanted to take the next step."

I just listened to what he said.

"I guess all I can say is that…it just happened." Arthur said letting out a sigh then he looked at me his eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Why…are you asking me this?"

"Was it really that obvious?" I asked suddenly finding my lap very interesting to look at.

"Yeah," Arthur said, "It was." He didn't sound angry at all. He just said it like it was. I turned around to face him shocked I had expected the whole "jealous boyfriend" scene to start.

"You…you're…" I stammered then gulped, "You mean…you're not mad?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows, "Why would I?" he asked sounding slightly surprised, "I'm a decent guy. And the only times I ever get jealous is when Erika beats me at something."

I just stared at him.

"Look, what this means is, if it turns out that Erika and I are better off being friends," Arthur said getting off his bed and putting a hand on my shoulder, "I'll put in a good word for you okay? Now, if you're feeling well enough, try to eat the beans while it's still warm. And make sure you let Toothless know you're okay." He stood up and left the cabin. I leaned back against the wall looking up at the ceiling.

_Hiccup…I know you were listening. I can't change how I feel about Erika…It wasn't my idea you're feeling it too…Is it too…weird?_

"_Weird?"_ Hiccup asked sounding both shocked and a little pissed off, _"IT'S FREAKING ME OUT!"_

I guess he did have a really good excuse I mean…Erika must be his…I don't know how many greats granddaughter and he's feeling the back wash of my feelings for her. So I guess it must be pretty strange for him…

"_Just….for the sake of my sanity…Can you wait until we get our…mess solved?" _Hiccup asked.

_Since we're also talking about my sanity too, whatever you say._ I answered chuckling slightly. Then I pulled the bowl of beans towards me and started eating.

After finishing my dinner I did feel a little better. I was still really shaken by what had happened earlier. I took my tray of dirty dishes to the galley to be washed, When I passed by the dining room there was Erika sitting at the table she looked like she was praying. I stopped. She wasn't saying anything, but I was sure she was crying! My gut tied itself into an extremely complicated knot. I did the one thing I could think of.

I set the tray down quietly on the table and pulled up a chair next to Erika. She didn't seem to notice me. I just sat there for a few minutes before I finally worked up enough nerve and was sure I wouldn't throw up. I scooted my chair closer to hers and put my arms around her.

"You idiot." Erika mumbled which meant she was relieved, "Shouldn't this be the other way around?" She shifted in my arms so she was facing me. Her face was slightly red and her eyes a little puffy.

"I've been through it before." I said, "I'm fine now."

"No. You're not." Erika said, "Liam, you were a complete wreck when Mr. Theodore carried you back here."

"Who?" I asked.

"The blonde guy with the sunglasses and weird cologne." Erika said, "He's telling the police what happened outside."

I pulled back from Erika slightly so we were just sitting facing each other, "What's…what's going to happen to Mom?"

"She's going to be sent to a correctional facility." Erika said, "Gramps and Chief were able to pull a few strings, she's gonna get some help. I can't promise that she'll stop being abusive, but it's likely you might never see her again." She looked at me slightly worried, "Are you going to be alight Liam? Do you want to go back home?"

"No." I said, "It's okay; I still want to help you find your dad. Your dad's probably still alive. I want you to be able spend more time with him." I didn't know how I felt about never seeing Mom again, half sad and half relieved I think but I had to do something to keep from going crazy!

Erika smiled weakly, "Thanks Liam. I owe you one." She stood up, "I'll go let Old Dalen know we're still going to Old Berk."

"Okay." I said. I watched her leave when she was gone and when I was sure she was out of earshot I let out a sigh and leaned back to look at the ceiling I hadn't been able to tell her…I loved her. I sat there like that for the next five minutes before getting my dirty dishes in the dishwasher then headed down to the Dragon Bay.

"_Liam! You're alright!"_ Toothless nearly bowled me over when I entered the Dragon Bay. When he finally calmed down and made absolutely sure that I was alright, apart from all the new bruises and partly healed nose, we settled down in a corner to talk. Toothless curled around me while I leaned back against his side, it was one of the safest places for me, as long as Toothless was there, I had nothing to worry about.

"…So…I guess it's over now…" I said after telling Toothless of what had happened in the store, "She can't do anything more to me…"

"…_She'd better not."_ Toothless said in a slight growl, _"Or anyone else for that matter…"_

I just closed my eyes and settled back against Toothless' warm flank. I just wanted to sleep and forget what had happened today. I felt sick, confused…and…I don't know…

"_Liam…you're sad…"_ Toothless said gently nuzzling me with his snout, _"Everything is going to be alright…just sleep, I'll watch over you."_

Too exhausted to speak I could only think "Thank you" and hope that Toothless had somehow heard me. I found a more comfortable position and dropped off to sleep…

I woke up much later to the strange smell of ozone. You know that smell there is right after a lightning storm? I shifted slightly wanting to go back to sleep until I heard a man talking. And I think he was talking to Toothless but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Maybe they were talking in Icelandic.

_Hey Hiccup?_

"_HHHrrrmmmm? Wutizzit?"_ Hiccup slurred sleepily.

"_Toothless is talking to that guy with the sunglasses and weird cologne but I think their talking your language, can you translate?"_ I asked.

"_Sure let me listen…"_ Hiccup said, _"Wha…I can't understand a word they're saying either! It's defiantly not Norse or Saxon…"_

_Saxon?_

"_It's what English used to be called."_ Hiccup said quickly, _"But that's not the point. I can't understand what they're saying. But…I think I may have seen that man before…"_

_Don't tell me he's an Ein…Ein…dead hero too…_Seriously some of these Norse words are real tongue twisters!

Mr. Theodore and Toothless stopped talking. What were they talking about? I carefully got up from where I was sitting and Mr. Theodore turned to face me. He had removed his sunglasses so now I could see his eyes a very striking electric blue color.

"Ah, Master Liam is it?" he asked politely, "Are you well now?"

I was slightly thrown by the "master" part no one had ever talked to me _this_ politely before I felt like I was on stage for a play or something and had a bizarre image of myself in Victorian era clothing for a fleeting second.

"J-just call me Liam…" I said awkwardly, "And...well…I'm feeling a little better than before…"

Mr. Theodore nodded, "That is good to hear. Your companions were most concerned about you. Especially Miss Erika. Are you sure you do not need to return to New Berk?"

"If I do go back, I might go crazy." I said, "I have to do something. Do you know when the airship is leaving?"

"The ship will be leaving within the hour," Mr. Theodore said, "Soon as Old Dalen runs through the checkpoints he will lift off." He nodded his head politely, "Now, I need to discuss things with the authorities. Good day." And just like that he hopped down from the ship from the opening in the Dragon Bay. I ran over to the edge and from twenty feet up Mr. Theodore landed on the deck startling several people and a waiting police officer and he landed like he just hopped off a street curb.

"That was stupid…" I muttered, "He could've broken every bone in his body…" I stood up and turned to leave the Dragon Bay and met Mr. Bill at the door.

"Liam, there you are." He said, "I was looking for you. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Everyone's been asking me that." I said, "I'm fine…enough." I said, "I still want to go to New Berk with everyone."

"Liam…That might not be a good idea..." Mr. Bill said sounding very serious, "You might need medical attention. I'm going to have Drakke take you back to New Berk."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Why was Mr. Bill acting like I couldn't handle myself? I grew up in New York, and while I hated it there, one of the few things I was thankful for was a thick skin.

"No!" I said, "If I go back I'll just go crazy! I have to do something!"

"Liam…" Mr. Bill said, "I consider you as one of my own grandchildren the least I can do is make sure you're taken care of."

"And you've done that, and more." I said, "I'm grateful for everything you and your family has done for me. Now…I...I just."

"Liam…" Mr. Bill said putting a hand on my shoulder, "There's no need to repay us, but I appreciate the thought." He sighed, "If you're that insistent…then I suppose there's no stopping you…"

Well I was also 18 now too.

"Thanks." Was all I could say. Mr. Bill smiled at me then gave me a gentle push to the door leading to the rest of the ship.

"Ah, come on," Mr. Bill said, "You look like you need a decent meal. Old Dalen still has some beans and sausage leftover if Sean, Ethan, and Erika haven't eaten it all yet."

"Alright," I said, "I will." I had already eaten but I guess one more bowl of beans and sausage wouldn't hurt-unless I had gas later today…

Later that night _The Sheran_ had taken off from Newfoundland. I was riding Toothless alongside Drakke. We were surrounded by stars and clouds, it was all so peaceful, it was hard to believe that any moment mutants could come swooping down and try to make a meal out of me.

"It must have been very difficult to decide to come." Drakke said after a few hours of silence.

I started when he spoke I had started to nod off on Toothless' back, "Hrrrmmm….wuhh?" I said, "Oh…yeah…it was…" I said sleepily rubbing my eyes.

"I didn't expect to run into my mom at all…" I said, "Not at all…"

"Are you sure you're making the right choice Liam?" Drakke asked, "You do know that things will become much more dangerous…"

"Yeah I know." I said, "But like I've been telling everyone else. I have to do something or I'll just go crazy!" I leaned back in Toothless' saddle as far as was safe looking up at the Milky Way stretching across the night sky.

Drakke was silent for a while before he spoke again, "You remind me of my Rider Liam."

"Wuh-what!" I bleated almost falling off Toothless' saddle in shock! Toothless let out a startled roar and managed to right himself in midair to prevent me from falling off.

"_Liam! Be more careful! Ugh…I swear you're going to be the death of me someday…"_ Toothless said.

"Sorry…" I said flustered then turned back to Drakke, "I…I remind you of your Rider? How?"

"He was very stubborn." Drakke said, "And always willing to help those in need; almost to the point where telling him to be selfish would have been doing him a favor."

"Who was he?" I asked.

"His name was Tristan, he was a prince of a Druid tribe in Ireland. We were one of few Dragon and Rider pairs in Western Europe during the Dark Ages. During that time we Dragons were little more than game for knights looking for a title for themselves."

The thought that anyone would kill a Dragon for sport was completely alien to me I couldn't begin to fathom it let alone a Bonded Dragon.

"What happened to him?" I asked a chill creeping down my spine.

"We were in South England…we had heard that a gang of bandits were causing a small village some grief and we were nearby so we went o offer our services. On our way we ran into a traveling knight." Drakke said sounding like what was coming was extremely painful, "Normally such encounters in that area went rather uneventful the people in that region were used to Dragons and some native tribes still worshipped us as gods. But this knight…he had intentionally sought me out."

I gasped, "You…you don't mean…You can't mean…George the Dragon Killer?"

"_Unfortunately yes…"_ Toothless said, _"I was there when it happened."_

"He had said he saw me flying towards a village and said he would not allow me to burn it to the ground." Drakke snorted in disgust, "As if I would…and even wild Dragons don't go burning down villages on a whim...And when he saw Tristan…things got complicated."

"How complicated?" I asked.

"_He thought Tristan had made Drakke his servant then asked why he didn't kill him."_ Toothless said, _"Tristan was insulted and told him that Drakke was his friend. Then The Dragon Killer accused Drakke of bewitching Tristan and attacked."_

"And it was Tristan who took the death blow for me." Drakke said, "He protected me, but I was unable to save him." He finished bitterly.

Even Drakke had been alone all these years…But why hadn't he found a new Rider when he had been pressuring Toothless? Before I could really think about it I blurted out, "But…have you been able to find a new Rider?"

Drakke chuckled dryly, "Sadly, no. I had looked for some time but I just never the right person…"

"You sound like you gave up." I said.

"_The one who's been telling me to find a new Rider has given up?"_ Toothless growled grumpily, _"Oh that's rich…"_

"Oh come now!" Drakke said, "Look at what came of it Toothless! You and Liam are now bonded!"

An hour later Toothless and I went back on board _The Sheran_ when it started to get too cold to be outside. Old Dalen had made hot noodle soup and Vietnamese sandwiches for dinner. We all sat around the table eating and talking. I knew they were trying to keep my mind off what happened earlier today for my sake. The next three days passed this way. Either we were flying on our Dragons over the sea or when radiation became too dangerous, in the airship playing board games. When we finally reached the Iceland airspace Old Dalen called us all to the cockpit.

"Strap yerselves in kids." Old Dalen said, "It's gonna get really bumpy once we enter the fog." He pointed ahead where we could see a huge cloud of fog like a huge wall right in front of us."

"How bumpy?" I asked.

"You-might-splat-against-the-ceiling-bumpy." Old Dalen said, "Buckle up everyone!" and just like that we all strapped ourselves into the passenger seats behind the pilot seats where Old Dalen and Chief were sitting. Much to my delight I was sitting next to Erika.

"Well…I guess I'm ready." Erika said then turned to me, "What about you?"

"I just hope I don't get airsick…." I said already feeling a little green.

"Steady now Dalen…" Chief said, "Steady now…"

Old Dalen carefully steered _The Sheran_ into the fog. For a while that was all what we could see. Thick fog obscured our view and from far away we could hear screeching of Mutants, at least they sounded far away.

"I'm bored…" Greg said, "Are we there yet?"

"It's only been five minutes doofus…" Jean grumbled irritably.

"I wanna fight some Mutants!" Greg whined. He continued like that until Mr. Bill had to go over and slap him to shut him up.

"They're so crazy…" Erika said, "Why do they have to always live on the edge?"

I chuckled slightly, "Well, at least they'll get their fill when we get to Iceland." Erika laughed in agreement. We flew through the fog for some time before we finally broke through into clear airspace…

….Filled with Mutants. A siren went blaring off and Old Dalen turned the steering hard to left to avoid a particually bif Raptor that was coming right at us!

"HARD TO PORT!" Old Dalen shouted, "REALLY HARD!"

We all screamed and held onto our seats as _The Sheran_ nearly tipped over sideways in attempt to avoid the Mutants. Old Dalen careened the airship hard both left and right! If we hadn't been strapped in we all would have gone splat against the ceiling.

"WAAAAAUUUGHH!" Sean wailed, "I'M GONNA BE SICK!"

Fred was shouting something about the Mutants at top speed but I wasn't paying much attention. I was completely focused on not losing my lunch. My knuckles were white from holding onto the armrests of my seat so hard.

"STAY IN YER SEATS EVERYONE!" Old Dalen shouted, "I'M TAKING HER INTO AN EMERGENCY LANDING!" _The Sheran_ then took a sharp nose dive towards the ocean.

I started screaming at the point I won't lie.

From below I could also hear all the Dragons down in the Dragon bay yelping and roaring in shock at the sudden nose dive. We were now completely perpendicular to the ocean and getting colder every millisecond until Old Dalen pulled _The Sheran_ out of her dive sharply and leveled her clumsily careening her way thorugh the swamr of Mutants attacking the ship.

"Shouldn't we attack them!" Erika shouted, "We're being torn to bits!"

"If you want…MAN THE CANNONS!" Old Dalen shouted and all at once Erika, Ethan, Sean, Greg, Jean, Fred, and I all jumped out of our seats and rushed to find a cannon to use. Greg got the bazooka of course. We were able to fight off the Raptors and other airborne Mutants that were latching onto the ship and with Drakke on the outside we were okay for a few minutes.

Until we were a few miles outside Iceland, when the Red Death showed up. It all happened so fast…First we tried to shoot it out of the sky, then _The Sheran_ was hit and we were spinning out of control, I tried to get to Toothless, and then I was falling…falling…falling…The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Toothless diving for me and _The Sheran_ in flames falling while everyone escaped on their Dragons.

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**Finally! it's up. I won't talk too long so you can get to reading your other faveorite fanfics.**

**I had to rewrite this chapter three times! This was one tough one especially with poor Liam getting beaten up in public. I don;t think ther;es been an OC I've been meaner to...I'd better let him catch a break in a few chapter...*hint hint***

**oh yeah and Percy Jackson fans might have figured sometihng out in this. Recipie for my spicy peanuty ramen to the readers who can guess who our friend "Mr. Theodore" is.**

**See you soon for Chapter eighteen: We Learn How to Make Zombies**

**Chocobo_Scribe signing off!**


	19. Chapter 18: We Learn How to Make Zombies

**Hello everyone, I'm not dead! AH! *dodges randomly thrown objects* Oh man yes I know it's been months since I updated! so here's a nice long chapter which i have meticously typed which I hope was worth the wait. school has started up for me and bizzarly this means updates will be slightly more frequently since my brain functions best in my dorm room.**

**I hope you all had a good Chrostmas and NEw year and HAPPY YEAR OF THE DRAGON! *sets off fireworks* the main reaosn i got so distracted was...The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword. I can;t put it down it's that good. I also went to Wizarding World of Harry Potter over break-go off season and you MUST get a wand and butterbeer souviner mug.**

**Anyway enough with my random-ass rambling on with the story! As usual standard disclaimers and Read and Review or Toothless will Grrrr!**

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**Chapter 18: We Learn How to Make Zombies**

I don't know how we got out of that mess, but somehow we did. When _The Sheran_ caught fire I was the first to get to the Dragon Bay and hung on for dear life to Jet as he nosedived out of the ship. We plummeted for a few seconds to get away from the debris before Jet spread his wings out catching a gust of wind. I looked back up and saw everyone else diving off on their Dragons and I could hear Old Dalen screaming: "NOT MY BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

And Liam plummeting down past me to the sea with Toothless diving after him.

It took me a few seconds to process what I was seeing. Then I took Jet into another nosedive towards Liam. I held onto Jet's sides with my thighs as I reached for Liam trying to grab his ankles. I was almost level with Toothless who was also reaching for Liam. I threw myself forward and with a mighty, "HUH!" I was able to catch hold of him and pulled him onto Jet's saddle. Jet swooped down to level out then shot upwards to rejoin the others. Toothless quickly followed us, thank God that his bionic tailfin was still working.

"He's okay Toothless." I said, "He's still alive." I started to strap Liam to my saddle as we started to fly in over Iceland. It was completely barren and devoid of life, it was like looking at the moon. Erika flew in next to me on Zephyr looking worried and a little singed.

"Is Liam alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, "He'll be okay, I think…" I looked over my shoulder again and saw Wolf, Siamese, Ventus, Coal, and Lenneth catching up with us while Drakke brought up the rear. I could still see parts of _The Sheran_ falling down into the sea. Thankfully the fire had scared off most of the mutants so it looked like we would get to land in one piece.

"…My baby…my baby…I flew that airship for fifty years!" Old Dalen wailed as we all sat around a campfire, "Blown to bits by a mutant….my poor baby…She's gonna rust in the ocean…"

He had been going on about this for some time.

"Ugh," Greg said, "Will you stop it already? Your ship is gone, yes. But look on the bright side we're still alive!"

"And besides…" Erika said irritably, "You're giving us all headaches." She was sitting near Liam along with Toothless-who had wrapped himself around Liam and had not budged since-and Arthur. She was the best at First Aid among us next to Arthur. Liam had made it completely intact, just a few scrapes and burns. Not counting the ones he already had.

"I can't believe this is happening…" Fred said shivering from the cold, "This place is totally deserted…especially this part of Iceland…Did you know that NASA used to train astronauts here before they went to the moon?"

Normally we'd all turn a deaf ear to Fred's bits of trivia but it was keeping him sane and gave us something else to talk about. So for the next hour we were talking about NASA and astronauts. Gramps was passing out skewers with sausages wrapped in crescent roll dough when Liam started to come to.

"Oooowwwuuughh…" Liam groaned sitting up rubbing his head, "What happened? Did we crash?" When he woke, Toothless started nuzzling him to make sure he was alright. He made some crooning sounds and Liam responded by saying he was alright.

"No," I said holding out a skewered sausage to him, "We're all okay, and you just woke up in time for dinner, sausages on a stick!"

Liam wordlessly took the skewer and sitting upright held his hot dog over the fire to cook it. I turned mine slowly to allow it to cook evenly. Soon the pastry turned golden brown and the sausage began to give off a savory smell. While we ate we started to discuss our situation.

"…And we're right in the middle of a fallout heavy area, thankfully there's no fallout right _here_." Jean said, "But you get the idea, we're stranded! Even if we could get above the fallout, there's the mutants to worry about, what if a really hungry Red Death shows up?"

"And we barely know our way around…" I said, "Gramps, you said you came over to Iceland a few times while you were living in Old Berk right?"

"That was mostly Reykjavík and some costal towns." Gramps said chuckling, "I was never bonded to a Dragon except for that time Toothless allowed me to ride him when I entered the war."

"So you're saying you didn't get into the rougher areas all that much?" I asked.

"You are exactly right." Gramps said, "Geoff, you did a bit of hiking out here didn't you?"

Chief who had been nodding off jumped slightly when Gramps spoke to him, "Ah…yes, yes I did," he said, "I was a strapping young lad in those days! Always backpack camping in the wilder areas. As for this area…I dunno, I can't remember much…but it sure hasn't changed. If we keep going north east…we should reach what's left o' Reykjavik."

"What about Zombies and Mutants?" Erika asked.

"Keep an eye for them and fire when you see their rotting flesh." Gramps said simply, "I'll take the first watch, you kids all get some sleep."

We all looked at each other, and we were all thinking the same thing. Maybe _we_ didn't know our way very well around but maybe Hiccup would? But how could we ask him with Gramps or Chief noticing? We hadn't told anyone what had really happened during the séance in Toronto and we weren't planning on anyone finding out. But Gramps and Chief didn't know their way very well around Iceland's wilder areas.

"Well," Gramps said pulling out a holo map projector, "The good news is we're not too far away from Reykjavik if we can get there, we'll be safe for a few days from any Mutants and Zombies then we can figure out where your Dad is." He turned it on and a small projection of Iceland and the surrounding islands popped up. I could vaguely make out where Old Berk was just at the edge of the map's vicinity. Right on the Arctic Circle.

Gramps held a hand over the map and made a pinching hand gesture then spread his forefinger and thumb apart to zoom in on our location.

"All we need to do is cross north-east across the wasteland and we'll reach Reykjavik before the day is out. We can set up our base camp there."

"I'll scout ahead and make sure that way is safe." Drakke said then lumbered off several yards before taking off buffeting us with a strong gust of wind. In minutes he was out of sight. Gramps and Chief further discussed our plans before we all turned in for the night with Gramps taking first watch. As soon as I was sure Chief was snoring away sound asleep and Gramps was too focused on watch duty I poked Erika awake. She grunted in surprise at first then when she saw it was just me said, "So…now what? Should we try to ask Hiccup if he can navigate?"

"Provided that not much has changed since the tenth century." I said, "Yes." I leaned over and started poking Liam awake. It took a while and after a growl from Toothless Liam jerked awake stuttering something about a monkey and a bowl of vanilla pudding.

"Wuh…what is it?" Liam asked in a slurred voice rubbing his eyes sleepily. I glanced at Toothless who was still glaring at me for daring to wake his Rider up while he was sleeping.

"We…we need to talk to Hiccup." I said, "We'll be able to get to Reykjavik, but from there we might be needing directions. We'll be searching the wasteland for our Dad and we need someone who knows their way around."

Liam at first looked a little reluctant then with a grim look on his face he nodded curtly and slapped himself on the back of his head. He straightened and opened his eyes. There was a second where Liam's light green eyes flickered back and forth from Hiccup's dark green eyes before it finally stopped at dark green.

"Okay…" Hiccup said, "You wanted to ask me if I can navigate?" He glanced around at the dark landscape of the wastelands.

"Well, none of us have never been here and Gramps only ever went to a few costal towns and Reykjavik and Chief can't remember much from when he did some hiking out here before everyone had to evacuate from Old Berk." I said.

Hiccup glanced around some more, "Well…I did come to Iceland on a few trading trips." He said slowly, "And during that time I did some exploring with Toothless and Astrid."

"Astrid?" Erika asked.

Hiccup blushed slightly, "Uhm…she's my wife…that would make her your…" he paused to count on his fingers, "More-greats-than-I-care-to-count-grandmother."

I had to get things on track before Erika asked him about his kids, "Do you think you can navigate while we try to find Dad?" I asked.

"Well…as far as I can tell not much has changed since my time so…yes I can." Hiccup said.

I laughed both in relief and agreement, "Thanks." I said, "And you're right not much _has_ changed around here. Except for some of the towns and Reykjavik, it's a whole city-at least now its ruins…"

"No way…" Hiccup said, "The last time I was there it was a farm and village!"

"Well," Erika said, 'That last time you were there was over a thousand years ago."

Thankfully nothing eventual happened during the night and soon as it was morning, and it was still dark especially with winter coming, we were airborne and on our way to Reykjavik. It was completely devoid of life, save for the Mutants who had made the bombed out buildings their homes and I think in the nearby bay a giant Red Death was currently living in some under water cavern.

"This looks like a good place." Gramps said steering Coal to land at the city hall, "We'll set up camp here."

We set up camp on the top floor where we'd have a good view of the city surrounding us, that way we couldn't be taken by surprise by Mutants or the odd Zombie wandering around. In addition we could just take off from the roof on our Dragons without having to take a running start.

"Okay…so where do we start looking?" Sean asked. We were all around a table Greg and Jean managed to find. We had our map set up on it. Right now it was displaying Reykjavik and the surrounding area. Red dots indicated possible locations where Dad and his Night Fury Nova might be located.

Gramps studied the map carefully then pointed to a point closest to our position, "Let's start with the place closest to us." It was only a few miles away. At the most it would only take a few minutes on Dragonback.

"When should we go?" Erika asked.

"Soon as you want." Gramps said, "But only three of you should go, we don't know if your Dad's there and besides, too many hunters spoil the scent."

"Okay!" I said tightening my belt, "We'll decide with rock, paper, scissors."

I won the first round and I hung back to watch everyone else continue with our little "rock, paper scissors" tournament. Greg and Jean had to stay behind after Jean's idea of "rock" was punching Greg in the face.

Eventually, it was decided that Fred, Arthur, and I would go to the location Gramps had shown us. It took us only a few minutes to get some supplies together, mainly a first aid kit, comm. devices (specially built by Erika and I), and a thermal radar. And of course, our guns.

"Good. No Zombies or Mutants." Arthur said, "Yet."

We were standing on some rock formations and steam was gushing out of cracks at irregular intervals. The only green in the area was some mold and moss on the rocks, all around was a total wasteland devoid of life. We must have been near a hot spring; this would be an ideal place for someone to hide out from Mutants and Zombies. I remember Gramps and Dad telling us how back in the tenth century outlaws would try to find places like this to stay.

I checked the thermal scanner but all the heat was coming from the steam and possibly an underground hot spring.

"Hey Ethan are you picking up on anything yet?" Fred asked.

I shook my head, "There's too much steam here. This thing's no good here." I turned it off and stowed it in my pocket, "And I can barely see a thing in all this steam."

I heard Arthur sniff, "And I doubt Lenneth, Jet, and Ventus will be able to pick up a scent either…" he said, "It reeks of sulfur here." He was right it was completely overpowering everything.

I looked over at Jet who was padding along next to me.

"You doing okay boy?" I asked scratching him behind the ears. Jet sneezed shaking his head like a horse then gave me a gummy smile. I took that as a "yes". We continued on our way through the rocks and steam for most of the day. We searched and searched and had no luck whatsoever.

We returned to our camp near nightfall. We had no leads and we were pretty much soaked from all the steam. When we arrived, Erika was cooking some dinner, Gramps checking a map, Liam was making some repairs on Toothless' saddle, Greg and Jean were fighting (as usual), and Old Dalen was still blubbering about his airship.

"Any luck?" Gramps asked as I sat down across from him. I shook my head too tired to talk. He sighed and pressed at one of the dots on the map causing it to vanish, "Well…maybe better luck tomorrow. You must be hungry, Erika's made some sandwiches."

"Sounds good." I said then found a spot next to Erika. She handed me a salami and ham sandwich. I took it wordlessly and started to eat.

The next few days were spent trying to find Dad with no luck. Finally, we decided to go to the other side of the island. If we couldn't find Dad there, we would look in Old Berk before turning back.

Getting to the East side of Iceland wasn't easy. We were constantly running into Mutants even with Drakke and Chief flying ahead and incinerating them before we got to them. On the East side we were constantly hit with storms and blizzards. Huge icebergs floated just off the coast and the sea was frozen for several miles all around. At least we wouldn't have to worry about any sea Mutants or a Red Death. They would be snoozing in a nice warm undersea volcano cave.

"So…how many more places to look?" Liam asked. This time Liam, Erika, and I were on the coast bundled up in our winter survival gear being buffeted by high frigid winds. I was standing next the Jet who had one of his wings wrapped around me to keep me warm. Toothless and Zephyr were doing the same with Erika and Liam. What I wouldn't do for a mug of hot coffee and Mom's homemade butter tarts.

"Not too many." Liam said, "Looks like we'll be going to Old Berk tomorrow at the soonest." He shaded his eyes as he squinted looking out to sea.

It was rather foggy but if you looked hard enough you could just barely make out what looked like a mountain rising up out of the sea from very, very far away. That was how Gramps often described Old Berk: like suddenly finding a mountainous forest in the middle of the ocean. I wondered if Dad was there.

"Come on," Erika said, "There's a cave with an underground hot spring nearby we can check." She led the way to a small cave from which steam was pouring out. I was wearing my goggles when we entered so naturally they fogged up and I was totally blind. I tripped and crashed right into Liam, who then fell against Erika and all three of us landed in a tangled pile on the cave floor.

"Ethan!" Erika grunted from under Liam, "You klutz! We could have been in front of a shaft!"

"Sorry…" I muttered getting up. I lifted my goggles from my eyes and I was able to see better. Liam and Erika picked themselves up from the cave floor rather clumsily as a huge cloud of steam gushed out from deeper inside. There was a yelp and a thud. When the steam cleared up I swear my jaw hit the cave floor. Liam was sprawled across Erika on the cave floor. Liam leapt up almost instantly with a loud yelp. He just stood there flaming red for a few seconds before holding out a hand to help Erika up to her feet.

"If you're finished with your little love scene," I said, "Maybe we should go in further?" Erika and Liam both gave me such death glares that if looks could kill, I probably would have dropped dead on the spot; and then gone after them as a Zombie for good measure.

The cave went on for some time. Eventually we had to leave Toothless, Zephyr, and Jet in one of the caverns because the next tunnel was too small even for Jet to wriggle through. Toothless at first wasn't too keen on letting any of us go on alone. He actually held on to Liam like he was one of his hatchling newly out of the egg and wouldn't let go. We had to resort to first, slapping Liam on the back of his head to switch to Hiccup, second, Hiccup was able to convince Toothless to let us go on.

"Toothless, we'll be fine." Hiccup said, "We'll be perfectly safe." Toothless crooned worriedly, "Toothless, I promise nothing's gonna happen." Hiccup gently stroked Toothless on the side of his head. Toothless made a low rumbling sound and nuzzled him tenderly.

We carefully made our way through the cramped tunnel with Hiccup leading the way.

"How much longer does this tunnel go on for?" I grunted as the tunnel started to go upwards. I could just make out Hiccup ahead climbing up the tunnel as if he had done this thousands of times. I reminded myself he probably had.

"I think I can see an exit up ahead!" Hiccup called down to us. He climbed up a few more feet then hoisted himself up onto a ledge above Erika and me. He leaned over the edge and pulled up Erika, and then they both pulled me up onto the ledge.

"Whoa…" Erika said, "Is this even a normal cave?" I looked around the cave. We were in a rather unusually large cavern which went from a natural one to a man-made one.

"What do you think?" I asked Erika.

"Yeah, I think so." Erika said then turned on her flashlight and led the way. Hiccup and I followed behind her.

"Are you two always able to read each other's mind?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah." I said, then turned to face him, "You said you knew some twins in Old Berk Ruffnut and Tuffnut right?"

"Yeah." Hiccup said, "But they were always fighting, you guys are the complete opposite. Actually…Freya and Arim were rather similar."

"Oh yeah," I said remembering what he had said a few weeks ago, "They're your kids right?" It felt a little odd to asking about Hiccup's kids while he was in Liam's body-who was eighteen years old. Extremely odd.

We continued on our way through the cave, but the further we went it started to seem more like a lab combined with a castle.

"This is weird." Erika said looking around, "You'd think this was built ages ago but it looks almost brand new…"

Strange symbols were carved into the walls and floor, they looked and felt almost…evil…that was the only word I could think of to describe them. The whole place was making me nervous I kept expecting to run into Mutants or Zombies.

"This is a very bad place…" I said, "This is a very bad place…we should get out of here…"

Erika seemed to agree, "I think so too…" She said, "Let's turn back now…" she turned and started to go back down the hallway we had come up through with Hiccup and I close behind. Getting back however was much harder then coming in. Soon as we reached the doorway we came in through it slammed shut.

"Now what?" Erika groaned.

"Let's try this way." I said pointing down a side hallway, "Maybe it joins to the main one." We dashed down the hallway past several more rune covered walls and this one very large room with a magic circle on the floor. Erika and I ran right by it but when Hiccup reached the center, the floor vanished right under our feet and we plummeted down a very dark and very long pit.

"! WHAT HAAAAAPEEENNNNNNED!" Erika shrieked as she shot down past me quickly followed by Hiccup who looked like he was about to sick. Then I remembered my Wind Crystal! I pulled it out and somehow managing to keep hold of it activated it.

"AIR CUSHION!" I shouted. The green wind crystal shimmered a light pastel green, then flickered out. My magic wasn't working!

"NO WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" I shouted as we all continued to fall at break neck speed. Then there was a flash of light from deep down in the pit, and I passed out…

"Ethan." Erika's voice said from very far away, "Ethan wake up!" I blinked my eyes open. Everything was so blurry. I blinked again, and this time my vision cleared. Erika was leaning over me with a worried expression on her face. I sat up carefully.

"What happened?" I asked, "I tried using my magic then there was that blinding flash of light and…nothing." Then I looked around, we were in a small cell.

"Where's Hiccup and Liam?" I asked.

"I don't know." Erika said, "When I came to we were the only ones in this room, wherever we are." We both stood up in the cell looking around. It was rather small and had no furniture, just stone walls and floor. There was a small door set into the wall, locked most likely, but that didn't stop Erika from trying to open it.

"Locked tight." She said, "Well…I guess it is a good thing I always wear a hairpin…" She lifted her hands to her pony tail and undid the scrunchie that held it in place along with a bobby pin. Her auburn hair fell down around her shoulders as she held her scrucnchie in her teeth and started picking the lock with her bobby pin.

"What if-." I started. To say before Erika cut me off.

"Don't say it." She said sharply through the scrunchie. She worked at the lock for several minutes being very careful to not break her bobby pin. After several tense minutes Erika swore and started trying to kick the door down!

"DAMN LOCK!" She shouted, "OPEN UP WILL YOU DAMMIT!" She gave the door another good kick, then yelped in pain and hopped away on her right leg clutching her left leg. She leaned back against the stone wall of our cell and slid down to the floor to nurse her sore leg.

"Are you okay sis?" I asked crouching down next to her.

"Yeah…" Erika hissed through her teeth, "Just some bruising…really smarts though…" She massaged her toes and winced as she squeezed the sensitive toes.

I sat down next to Erika, "Well…what now? Any brainwaves coming?"

"Lemme think…" Erika said tying her hair back up into her ponytail, "If this doesn't work we'll have to-."

_CRASH!_ Erika and I nearly jumped out of our skins as the door to our cell came crashing down and a huge cloud of dust flew up sending us into fits of coughing. I coughed several times then cracked my eyes open and saw…Sean!

"Sean!" I shouted leaping up to my feet, "How'd you find us?"

Sean coughed and flapping his hand to clear away the smoke said, "Keh…A while after you, Erika, Lim, and your Dragons left we all suddenly passed out and the next thing I knew I was in a cell with Fred."

"You mean…everyone's here?' Erika said joining Sean and I at the door, "Where are our Dragons?"

"How did you get the door open?" I asked Sean, for answer, Sean held up a bullet and a Swiss Army Knife, and a lighter. I see, explosives.

Fred came running up panting and a little sweaty and flushed in the face, "I…I th-think I found them!"he panted, "Let's go find everyone else now!"

With that we took off down the hall to rescue our friends and Gramps and our Dragons. We were able to find everyone rather easily. Everyone…except Liam and Hiccup. That had us all worried.

"Where is he..?" Erika said sounding very worried, "Liam was with us until recently…"

"I don't think he escaped…" I said, "He's probably somewhere else in here."

"Let's find Toothless first." Fred suggested, "If there's no way we'll find them, I'm sure Toothless will find them in no time!"

We all split up into teams to find our Dragons and Liam and Hiccup. Erika, Arthur, Gramps, and I ran down one hallway while Greg, Jean, Sean, and Fred went down another, and Old Dalen and Chief went down another. We almost got lost _again_ through the labyrinth of hallways and hidden doors and a few booby traps. We hit several dead ends and even more locked doors, not all of them we were able to force our way through.

"Ho-how much…How much longer…does this hallway go on for?" I panted falling behind Arthur. Somehow, Gramps has more energy than I do; I have never been able to find out why.

"Ask, the walls." Erika said a little irritably, "We have to keep going! What if this place is home to some crazy mad scientist who makes monsters?" A sudden horrifying image of Liam being strapped down to a table while the corniest, cheesiest, and the scariest monster movie scientist in a dirty white lab coat was mixing some foul concoction appeared in my head. That gave me a new burst of speed and we ran down the hallway for good while until all of us were out of breath and we had hit _another_ dead end.

"I can't go any further…" Erika panted slumped against the wall, "I need to-AGGHHHH!" The wall behind her suddenly swung back like a door and she fell over backwards through it and then slid down

"Sis!" I shouted rushing forward and slipped and started sliding down the ramp at breakneck speed screaming my lungs out. I slid down until I crashed into Erika at the bottom.

"Owwwww…" I moaned rubbing my head, "Sis you okay?"

"Yeah…" Erika said getting up, "Leave it to me to be such a klutz after calling you one. Come on. We've gotta get back up and find the Dragons and Liam and Hiccup." She held out her hand to me and pulled me up to my feet.

"HEEEEY!" Arthur shouted, "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah we're fine!" Erika shouted back, "Can you lower a rope for us?" Arthur said he would and turned to his pack for rope. I looked over at Erika.

"Do you think, this hallway leads somewhere?" I asked.

Erika looked down the hallway, "Maybe, but…what was that sound?" A low rumbling sound and the sound of claws, Dragon claws on stone floor sounded from down the hall and were coming closer. Soon heavy breathing and a pair of very familiar blue eyes became visible.

"Nova!" I shouted. The large Night Fury bounded forward and nuzzled Erika and I affectionately purring happily. If Nova was here that meant…

"Nova!" I said taking his head into my hands, "Is…Is Dad here?"

"Ethan? Erika?" Erika and I peered around Nova's bulk a little nervously.

"DAD!" We both shouted and rushed forward.

"What's going on?" Arthur said from behind and above us, I completely ignored him. I lunged forward and flung my arms around Dad's neck. He caught both me and Erika stumbling backwards slightly. He laughed and hugged us both in return.

"I knew you were alive!" Erika said excitedly, "I knew it!"

"And I knew you two would find me!" Dad said. He looked a little worse for wear. His dirty blonde hair was long and scraggily now compared to the neat short cut he had when we last saw him before he disappeared. He was even still wearing the same clothes, black combat fatigues with a leather jacket with a Western Dracoian head design on the back.

There was a thud as Arthur slid down the ramp, "Guys what is-AH!" he yelped when he saw Dad, "C-C-Commander Haroldson!"

"Ed?" Gramps said then he too came down to join us.

"Pabbi?" Dad said looking past Erika and I then Gramps had joined us in a group hug. After a few minutes we all let go of each other.

"Dad, were you here all along?" I asked, "How did you get here?"

"Bit of a long story," Dad said, "And…you might not believe me, but when I went to Russia to help this one village the locals told me something about a Shade who was trying to bring someone back from the dead. I went to investigate and when I found the Shade, he said something about a boy named Hiccup and he would bring him back and this time he wouldn't fail, then he saw me and next thing I knew I was in a cell with Nova."

He waited for our reaction.

"Go ahead, call me insane." Dad said in a resigned voice, "There's no way even you kids would-."

"Dad, we believe you." Erika said she gave me a glance and I immediately knew what she was thinking.

All this, the war, the Zombies, the Mutants, _everything_ was caused because somebody out there had tried to bring Hiccup back to life and apparently had failed resulting in the Zombies and the war.

"Wait…just off the bat?" Dad asked incredulously.

"Well…you _are_ a horrible liar for one thing," Erika said, "And…this is going to sound REALLY bizarre, but we actually met Hiccup, he's Toothless' previous Rider."

"Previous?" Dad asked.

"Oh, it was a few months ago." Gramps said, "A young man, Liam became Toothless' Rider, but it would take too long to explain, do you have any idea what's down here?"

"There's several cages holding the Dragons." Dad said, "I was about to go free them after I escaped mine when you dropped in."

A while later, after getting everyone else we were all reunited with our Dragons. Somehow even Drakke had wound up in here too which was a complete mystery to me. The last cage held Toothless, we almost didn't have to open the door, by the time we got there Toothless had almost knocked down the door of his cell. Soon as we got the rest of the door out of Toothless' way he was suddenly completely alert sniffing the air and before any one of us could say anything bounded down the hallway and made a sharp turn down another corridor.

"Toothless!" Erika shouted giving chase I quickly followed with Dad and Arthur hot on my heels. We were just barely able to keep up with Toothless through. all the hallways. Finally, we came out into a large lab. Monitors were all over the walls and one wall was covered in computers and other machines. In the center, was Liam, strapped down to a table on top of a magic circle carved into the floor. He was bleeding from his forehead and seemed to have been knocked out.

"Liam!" Erika shouted and bounded over right after Toothless. As soon as both reached the edge of the magic circle they were thrown back by an invisible force field. The rest of use rushed over while Toothless was ramming into the force field head first and when that didn't work he tried using one of his plasma shots, but all that did was ricochet all over the chamber and nearly killed Fred.

"Now what do we do!" I wailed pressing my hands against the force field, "How are we getting Liam out of there?"

"Oh, he isn't leaving." A sinister male sounding voice said.

"Alvin!" Dad shouted and before I could process what was happening Dad grabbed Erika and I by the backs of our jackets and yanked us behind him and pulled out his guns aiming them right at the speaker.

"Ah, Commander Edmund Haroldson." A tall black robed figure stepped out from the shadows, "And it seems the rest of the family is here too. Good very good…you can all see your little ah…family reunion."

Liam groaned as he began to regain consciousness and his eyes flickered open slightly, it took a few seconds for him to notice he was strapped down to a stone table.

"Ah!" he yelped, "No wha! Toothless! Erika!" He shouted. Liam started struggeling against the straps holding down and almost immediately received what must have been a painful electric shock that caused him scream and go limp. Toothless let out a blood curdling roar and renewed his attack on the barrier with increased tenacity.

"What do you mean by 'family reunion'?" Dad asked, "Wait…you're still trying to bring Hiccup back from the dead!" A wild look crossed Dad's face, "Alvin you'll only destroy yourself! The dead can never return to the land of the living."

"That was until Hiccup wandered into little Liam here." Alvin said a very creepy grin stretching across his gaunt vampire face, "Two souls in the same body for some time I imagine. A dead soul in a living body, kind of like reincarnation right?"

"What is he talking about?" Gramps asked as I, Erika, Arthur, Fred, Greg, Jean, and Sean all stiffened at once.

"Hmph, looks like the "bad guy" has to spell everything out for the "good guys"." Alvin sniffed irritably, "As usual…sheesh…my best student Melrina would have figured this out in a heartbeat." Alvin cleared his throat as if he was about to give a lecture and we'd better take notes because it would be on the final.

"These children apparently tried to help Toothless but were not willing to go as far as it would take. They simply decided to make contact with Hiccup and through some bizarre happenstance and the strong emotional bond that lingers between Dragon and Ride long after one or the other has died Hiccup got stuck in young Liam here." Alvian flourished a hand at Liam's unconscious body.

He continued, "When I sensed this happen I finally understood why my previous attempt to reunite Toothless with his Rider failed. Hiccup's soul had to be inside a living body, otherwise, you just end up making Zombies."

"YOU TOUCH LIAM AND I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" Erika shouted then pulled out an explode crystal from her pocket and threw it at the barrier. At the same time Toothless hit it with a plasma bolt.

_!_

The explosion was blindingly white and deafeningly loud! I was thrown backwards several yards and landed hard against Jet's side. Dazed everything was a blur of light and color. I shook my head trying to regain my senses. There was a gunshot, Alvin screeched and there was a thud then as my vision cleared, Erika and Arthur were supporting Liam between them and getting him onto Toothless.

Alvin lay sprawled on the floor stunned from Erika's gunshot while Dad kept his own guns aimed at him. When apparently it seemed Alvin wasn't about to jump up and try to kill us he turned and started to run over to me.

"Ethan!" Dad said sliding to a halt in front of me, "Are you alright son?"

"Y-yeah…" I said, "A little….dizzy….though…" Dad nodded then grabbed me under my armpits and hoisted me onto his shoulder.

"Okay!" I heard Erika shouted, "I got Liam strapped in Toothless, you go ahead and get him out of here!"

A loud explosion and a cry of "NO!" nearly threw Dad off balance and we both were nearly sent toppling over. I lifted my head to see Alvin floating above the floor and Erika and Arthur thrown from him, lying stunned on the edges of the magic circle which was glowing electric blue.

"YOU BRATS WON'T STOP ME!" Alvin shouted the magic circle shone blindingly bright and I had to squeeze my eyes shut.

Liam screamed.

Fred let out a blood curdeling yell of , "ZOMBIES!"

I peaked my eyes open and they bugged open in horror.

Spilling out from the center of the magic circle were hundreds and hundreds of Zombies. Alvin had just let loose more Zombies into the world. His attempt to resurrect Hiccup had failed again.

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**I was thinking of adding more to this chapter but I figured a cliffe with Zombies about to eat the heroes was the right place to leave things for now. If you're wondering about this mysterious Merlina go check out my deviantart : crazyforchocobos and you'll find some sketches of her. Merlina is due to have her own story: "A Modern Day Wizard in King Arthur's Court" which will be a Merlin fanfic and set int he same universe as "Promises" hopefully I'll have a sneak peak up on my deviant art either tonight or Sunday, if I'm not stuffed to the gills on Super Bowl Game day Food. The 49ers didn't win BOOOOOOO!**

**I also have a Legend of Zelda fanfic in the works too "Song of the Dragons Book One: The Seeker of the Hero". That one, Link won't appear until towards the end but then agian it's about _the Seeker of the Hero_ not the Hero himself so I think I avoided making my Seeker OC a Gary Stu.**

**Anyways stay tuned for Chapter Nineteen: We Meet Some Dead Heroes. for those of you who are familiar in NOrse mythology you know what this means right?**

**Chocobo_Scribe signing off!**


	20. Chapter 20: We Meet Some Dead Heroes

**Oh sweet mother of god...I am late...an entire semester...AN ENTIRE SEMESTER! *grovels at your feet* forgive me and i hope that this 20 paged chapter shall suffice!**

**Well, I have a few days of school left and I might be gettign wrok over summer but I'll try to be more active on fanfics over the summer. Just fair warning I was a little braindead on finishing this chapter so if you nottice something say something.**

**As usual standard disclaimers apply and read and review or Toothless will GRRR!**

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**Chapter Nineteen: We Meet Some Dead Heroes**

It was like being in a horror movie. Zombies were shuffling towards us, hands reaching out for us, and staring at us with dead eyes. I scrambled back up to my feet fumbling for my gun. Arthur was still sprawled on the floor stunned and Liam was unconscious on Toothless' back. Fred probably was in no shape for action (the poor guy's TERRIFIED of zombies ever since we got together to watch an old horror movie) and were all outnumbered and not all of us were conscious.

"Where's a machine gun when a girl needs one?" I grumbled and pulled out another "explode crystal" from my belt and threw it at the zombies bearing down on us. I quickly stooped down and yanked Arthur back up to his feet.

"It's getting crowded in here," I said pulling my gun out on the Zombies again, "Is there anyway out of here?"

"Erika!" I heard Dad shout, I looked over my shoulder to see him with Ethan passed out over his shoulder and motioning for Arthur and I follow him, we didn't hesitate and wanted to run form the Zombies. We followed taking potshots at the Zombies to keep them from catching up with us.

We dashed down a side corridor and down another maze of rooms trying to find a way out but we kept hitting dead ends and the occasional Zombie or Mutant. I can't remember how long this lasted but eventually I couldn't run another step and stumbled to the floor out of breath and coughing slightly.

"There's got to be a way out of here!" Dad panted lowering Ethan to the floor as he stopped to catch his breath, "It can't just go on forever."

"And when we _do_ get out of here," Arthur said, "How will we get off the island? There's fallout heavy airspace all around us and _The Sheran_ is at the bottom of the ocean."

Old Dalen sniffled, "My poor lil' baby rustin' away and bein' nibbled at by fish and monsters…"

"We have worse things to worry about than your airship." Dad snapped, "Such as Zombies, it's like _Resident Evil_ back there!" Loud banging noises and moaning only supplemented this fact. I always hated that old series _The Walking Dead_ because it gave me nightmares and now it was like were in an episode. Only no director to yell "CUT!" and the Zombies wouldn'y become our friendly co-stars. Nope.

We could actually die here.

"We're going to make it." Sean said, and started onward again. And once more we were searching for a way out.

Eventually our Dragons sniffed out the exit and we were back out in the bitter cold and fresh air.

Only to be greeted by Alvin and _more_ Zombies blocking our way _out_ and then the way back _in_. He was flanked by two very bulky Zombies that looked like meathead musclemen from those live pay per view wrestling specials on TV.

"Leaving so soon?" Alvin sneered.

"Well, if you weren't such a terrible host maybe we'd stay for coffee." Arthur said.

"Well…I still need the boy," Alvin said, "So if you would be so kind as to hand him over-."

"NEVER!" I shouted training my gun on him, "You're not getting your slimy undead hands on him."

Alvin didn't appear to have heard me or if he did he was ignoring me. He motioned to the two Zombies flanking him and they started to shuffle forwards. I grit my teeth. I didn't think it was going to end like this. Being seen off by meathead Zombies.

But before I could go into the whole philosophical stuff, reflecting on life and what not, things got even _stranger_.

Mr. Theodore, the body guard looking guy from the Newfoundland warehouse store suddenly was just there. He didn't knock over any Zombies with a policeman's baton. He was just _there_. Like he materialized there.

Okay…I was hallucinating. I had gone into shock in the event of imminent death and now I was hallucinating that Mr. Theodore had come to the rescue. He pulled out what looked like a policeman's baton but for a few seconds it looked like a hammer-not the kind you hit nails with-the kind Vikings used to bust heads with.

I was hallucinating very badly. I was seeing a policeman's baton as a Viking Hammer and to make it worse, it was cracking with electricity. Since when did that happen? Was it a cattle prod disguised as a baton?

"Erika?" Arthur said, "Are you seeing this? He has a hammer that's spouting electricity."

I blinked and rubbed my eyes hard. There was the electric hammer and the strong smell of ozone. No…it was the smell of lightning.

"I see it." I said.

If Arthur was also seeing this, I wasn't hallucinating. But why was Mr. Theodore packing an electric hammer? And how was that hammer packing electricity? This was making my brain hurt.

"You fiends shall not accost these good people Shade!" He shouted and I was sure this was a hallucination because then there was this huge explosion and nearly all the Zombies were obliterated.

"Follow me," Mr. Theodore said, "We must leave this place."

And we did just that.

We were somewhere else.

A beach.

Not the cold grey stony beach we were on in Iceland, it was a sandy, green, and snowy beach. A little ways back a huge craggy mountain loomed over us covered in snow and glaciers. Out over the sea huge sea stacks surrounded the island and further back was a thick wall of fog.

"Is this…Dragon Island?" I asked.

"Yes it is lass." Mr. Theodore said as if we just walked off an airship, "No undead or monsters will bother us here."

We all just stared at him like he grew three extra heads. Then the questions began exploding from everyone.

"HOW DID WE GET HERE WITHOUT AN AIRSHIP!"

"HOW DID YOU GET TO ICELAND WITHOUT AN AIRSHIP!"

"WHY IS YOUR BATON ELECTRIC!"

"WHY IS YOUR BATON A HAMMER!"

"Who are you _really_?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"

"WHY DID YOU BRING US HERE!"

"Are you a secret agent?"

"HOW DO YOU HAVE TELEPORTATION POWERS!"

Mr. Theodore-or whoever he was, was rather overwhelmed by the bombardment of questions. He told us to ask our questions one at a time and that we'd know everything soon. But for now we had to go into town and check into the hotel to rest.

Right now if any more information was put into my head, it would explode. We did as Mr. Theodore suggested and checked into the Saphira Hotel, we were given the penthouse. Once we were settled in Dad called the house doctor to check up on Liam. Two tense hours later, the doctor assured us that Liam was fine, there was no brain damage and that he should wake up by tonight. In the meantime we just had to keep him comfortable.

I was extremely worn out from the day's events, waking up in a cell, finding out that a failed resurrection had caused the Zombie outbreak, being chased by zombies, nearly being killed by zombies, learning there was way more than met the eye to Mr. Theodore, and just having too much to process, I just watched the NatGeo channel.

I know, all this crazy shit happens to me and my team and I'm watching a documentary on penguins and then Dad called room service and ordered some dinner. I still felt like I was hallucinating at this almost normal end to the day.

No one talked much, they were all too much in shock. We all just sat around quietly poking at the fish and potato casserole Dad had ordered and or staring into space or joining me in watching T.V.

I was watching a documentary about supposed other dimensions when Liam woke up. He staggered into the living room dazed.

I looked up, "Liam," I got up from the couch and helped him over to the couch, he looked like he was going to lose his balance at any moment, "How are you feeling?"

"Wuh…what happened?" he asked in a slurred voice, "L-last th-thing I remember was…that…guy strapping me down to the table in his lab…"

"Well…that's kinda hard to explain." I said, "Come on, there's still some food left. Dad called room service, fish and potato casserole."

I microwaved some of the leftovers and went back to watching T.V. while Liam ate his dinner. I kept glancing over my shoulder at Liam as he ate. He wasn't eating much more shoving his food around his plate. He was still pretty pale and he had this haunted look in his eyes. I tried to focus on the show, why was I feeling like this? I had never felt so worried about anyone, even more so than Ethan and Arthur.

_Oh god…Am I..? No no….it's just all the stress from nearly being killed by Zombies._ I kneaded my temples trying to make sense of things. I had a crush on Arthur since he moved to new Berk from England. We started dating in eleventh grade, and now we were going pretty serious, I knew Arthur, he'd never get jealous-except when I beat him at training runs or a video game or whatever.

Maybe I just needed to talk to him.

"Erika?"

I turned around to face Liam he was standing behind the couch looking worried. Why was he always worrying about me when I should be worrying about _him_?

"Are you alright?" he asked, I knew it.

"Yeah." I said, "If you'd let_ me_ worry about _you_."

"I'm fine." Liam muttered defensively joining me on the couch. I swear I almost growled.

"Liam, you were hit on the head and a psycho hell bent on resurrecting Hiccup turns you into his test subject! And you're worrying about _me_! Can't you be selfish for once and worry about yourself every now and then?"

Liam didn't answer. I returned the silent treatment.

"I'm going to bed." I said after an awkward ten minutes. I turned off the T.V. and got off the couch to go to my room. After a few steps I felt a tug on my right arm. Turning around I saw Liam holding my wrist with a dead serious look on his face.

"L-Liam?" I stammered nervously, "What-?"

The next thing I knew Liam had me in a tight hug. Not the friendship kind of hug. Not the familial hug. This was a hug people in a romantic relationship have. I knew that Liam must have developed a crush on me but…

Liam pulled back slightly so we were face to face, he looked so anguished I was afraid I had said something to hurt him or that his head was going to blow up.

"Erika, I love you!" Liam shouted, "I…I…I don't want to be with anyone else but you."

I gaped at Liam like a complete idiot. Sure this had seemed pretty obvious but for him to say it out loud to my face was a huge shock. A HUGE shock.

I tried to say something but all I could say was, "Uuhhhhh…." A second later I knew that was a mistake. Liam's eyes filled with tears. He let go of me and took a few steps back looking like I just betrayed him.

"You…you still…" he stammered thickly, "Erika…I…I can't stand seeing you with Arthur!" then turned and ran into his room slamming the door behind him.

"Erika!" Dad came out of his room and rushed over to me, "Erika what happened? I heard you and Liam…Sweetie…"

I just started crying like a five year old. Why couldn't I have told Liam? Why? I still liked Arthur, but…

_Liam…I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…_

Dad and I stood there for what felt like hours while I cried into his shoulder.

I did not get a wink of sleep that night. The next day I was still sitting up in bed hugging my knees to my chest trying to sort out what happened last night and how to patch things up with Liam. I sat on the bed until past noon. By then Arthur came in. He pulled up the chair and sat down on it backwards resting his chin on the top of the back of the chair.

For a while we just stared into space not saying anything.

"I heard you and Liam last night." Arthur said.

"You too eh?" I said, "I have to be honest, I really didn't see that coming."

An awkward silence followed. I fidgeted on the bed what was Arthur thinking? Was he angry, hurt, confused, okay? My brain started hurting.

"You're…not jealous are you Arthur?" I asked. It sounded childish when I said it, what was I thinking? All that thinking over the night must have short circuited my brain.

"Why should I be jealous?" Arthur asked as if I said something rather stupid, "You know I'm not that kind of person, the only thing I'm jealous of is your high score on _Super Mario_."

I laughed, good old Arthur. Why was I even worried?

"All I'll say," Arthur said, "Is that if you really feel that way about Liam, I won't hold anything against you. Liam's a good guy, probably one of the best ones out there."

"So I guess this means we're officially exes?" I chuckled.

Arthur burst out laughing, "I suppose," he held out his hand to me, "Miss Erika Haroldson it has truly been an honor being your boyfriend I'm sorry fate had other ideas."

I laughed, he had seriously missed his calling as an actor. I took his hand and put on a fake British accent, "You too good sir, it has been an honor, I do hope we can still be dear friends."

We came out into the kitchen where everyone else was. I was expecting apologize to Liam and let him know that Arthur and I called it quits but like Arthur said earlier, fate had other ideas for the day.

Liam was talking to Dad frantically he was pretty freaked out. Ethan, Greg, Jean, Fred, and Sean were there too and they looked just as worried. We hurried over to join them.

"…I can't feel Hiccup." Liam said, "I tried to talk to him last night and…nothing…he isn't there anymore!" I could hear a note of panic in his voice.

"What?" I blurted out. Liam turned to face me then turned to face Dad again and continued to explain what had happened last night.

He couldn't feel Hiccup anymore? Did it have something to do with yesterday? I tried to remember what happened, mainly Alvin had tried to bring Hiccup back to life and then there was zombies which meant he must have failed but now Hiccup was suddenly gone.

Alvin couldn't have…could he?

"We should go to Old Berk." I said, "We might find something there."

"Old Berk?" Dad said dumbstruck, "No! It's too dangerous, Erika, I've told you and Ethan about the day Old Berk was attacked your grandparents, uncle Tyler and I were among the few five hundred who escaped with their lives, when the Red Deaths got there, it was a massacre." Dad had only been six that day but he could still remember it clearly.

"I know," I said, "But that was where Hiccup was born, so…maybe we might find him there."

"Sis…" Ethan said, "You don't mean…are you saying that Alvin might have managed to bring Hiccup back to life?"

I frowned even I didn't know for sure.

"I don't know, but maybe we'll find something." I said, "Who knows."

"I still think this is a bad idea." Dad said, "I can't let you kids go into a dangerous territory, I'll go. I still remember my way around Old Berk."

"DAD!" Ethan and I bleated. We had just been through hell and back to rescue him! We weren't letting him out of our sight! We just started to tell him that when Mr. Theodore came in.

"Ah…I…I hope I'm not interrupting anything…" he said awkwardly.

"No…you're not." Dad said, "I don't believe you've told me your name. What is it?"

"Well," Mr. Theodore said taking off his sunglasses, soon as his electric blue eyes were visible I swear the air in the room became charged, my hair started to stand on end, "I am known as Theodore and I occasionally work as a body guard, and I have also been known by other names too, but that would take too long to tell you all of them."

"Can you get to the point?" Greg said, "And what is up with that weird cologne? Is it Eau du Ozone?"

Mr. Theodore looked at him askance, "Cologne? Whatever are you talking about? I am not wearing any."

What?

He wasn't wearing cologne? Was he a real life Gary-Stu? For some bizarre reason everywhere he went it began to smell of lightning? If so…I was going to take it as a sign that the world was going to end soon.

"You said yesterday that we'd know everything," Arthur said, "Does that include the reason why every room you walk into smells like there's just been a lightning storm?"

"If you insist," Mr. Theodore or whoever he was said, "But if you're planning on going to Berk I would suggest that Merlina accompany you."

Who? Who was this Merlina girl? Alvin had mentioned she was one of his students but that would have been over seventy years ago she'd be dead by now.

An hour later and even more confused we followed Mr. Theodore to the central caves of Dragon Island. Even though it had been over a thousand years since then, the caves still bore marks of when the Red Death had invaded the mountain nest, most of it was covered with moss and there were almost no indicators that this island used to be completely barren.

"Hard to believe this place used to be completely volcanic huh?" Gramps said looking up at the now extinct volcano, "Now you'd think this place was always a Garden of Eden. But believe it or not, a thousand years ago a giant Red Death crashed right into the beach and exploded on impact."

It was hard to think that Dragon Island had been anything _but_ a paradise. Especially when you took Old Berk's current state into consideration. Both Islands had the same shape, a huge mountain rising up out of the ocean, the main difference, Dragon Island was lush and green, Old Berk was grey and barren. The Mutant attacks and the fire form a giant Red Death had scorched the island so deeply nothing would be able to grow there ever again.

"You said we'd understand everything." Liam said, "What is 'everything'?" Mr. Theodore paused in front of the entrance to one of the cave galleries.

"First, and foremost," Mr. Theodore said, "My name isn't Theodore, it is an alias I have been using for the past century. My true name is Thor Odinsson."

WHAT THE HELL!

_He did not just say his name was Thor…Even if he did…he was probably only named after Thor he can't really be the Norse god of Thunder or the Marvel superhero from The Avengers! This is FRICKEN IMPOSSIBLE!_ My brain was on the verge of exploding into a million gooey bits and I did not care how expensive the clean up would be.

"You're named after Thor?" Ethan asked, "Like the superhero from Marvel comics? Your parents were nerds too weren't they?"

"Ethan…" I hissed, "Don't be rude." However weird things got I could NOT let Ethan tick this guy off.

The corners of Mr. Theodore's mouth twitched, but not in a smile.

"Ignore him," I said dropping my arm on Ethan's head, "He just blurts stuff out at random."

"SIS!" Ethan whined.

"Still," Mr. Theodore said, "You should be more careful about what you say Son of Edmund. You do not want to offend someone unintentionally."

Ethan looked at his feet blushing bright red as we all followed Mr. Theodore-or Thor I supposed into the caves.

My eyes bugged out and again I thought I was hallucinating.

In the center of the cave was a large chunk of crystal and in the crystal was a girl. A girl who looked like she was in her early twenties. She had a short and stocky build, shoulder length jet black hair, and was wearing blue jeans, a red t-shirt, hiking boots, and a brown hoodie with a blue hood. She looked like she was frozen inside the crystal a long time ago.

"I-Is…is she still alive?" I squeaked, "She's…frozen…in that…"

"That girl is Merlina 'O' Kiefe, daughter of Morgan 'O' Kiefe," Thor said, "The most powerful wielder of magic of her time and the last surviving heir of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake."

Okay, let's pause for a minute and lay down our WTF list.

Alvin tried to resurrect Hiccup

Hiccup might have been brought back to life after all

We somehow got warped to Dragon Island from Iceland via a rainbow

Mr. Theodore is claiming to be Thor the god of thunder

There is a college aged girl frozen in crystal

Said girl is supposedly a descendent of Merlin, the greatest Wizard of all time

See where this is going? Total insanity! I must have hit my head extremely hard during training and pretty soon I'll wake up in my bedroom with Mom sitting next to my bed and then a very worried Liam will want to make absolutely sure I was still in one piece.

I hope I wake up soon. My brain was seriously about to explode right here and now.

"Why does she have to come with us to Old Berk?" Edmund asked, "I can't just allow her to get into a dangerous situation, she isn't a registered Rider, she doesn't have a Dragon to protect her."

Thor actually chuckled slightly, "That, won't be a problem, why she can make even a Red Death stand down with only a few words."

She was a Mary Sue?

"How…how is that even possible?" Gramps asked dumbstruck, then looked as if he suddenly remembered something, "Wait…that can't be right, they went extinct hundreds of years ago!"

"Who went extinct?" Greg asked.

"She," Thor said, "Is a Dragonlord, one who can command Dragons. That is why she must accompany you, with her the Red Death nesting on the Isle of Berk will not harass you while you are there."

"But she's frozen in crystal." Liam said.

Thor smiled again, "Leave that to me young master." He turned on his heel and approached the crystal and laid a hand on it. He then spoke some very well chosen words, at first I thought it was Icelandic but I couldn't make heads or tails of what he was saying. As he spoke cracks began to appear in the crystal and when he finished huge shards of crystal were sent flying everywhere freeing the girl inside. She hovered in mid air for an instant then fell down to the cave floor. Just before she hit the ground she slowed down and landed lightly on her feet.

"Nnnnnghhh…" she groaned, "Whut time izzit?" she said in a slurred voice as though she was just waking up from a deep sleep.

"Time for you to wake up," Thor said, "You have been asleep for a long time Lady Merlina."

Merlina looked up at Thor blearily then at us her eyes widened when she saw Toothless.

"Toothless!" she shouted and immediately rushed over to him.

"Wha…wha…y-y-you know Toothless!" Liam bleated.

"Of course I do." Melrina said petting Toothless as he purred contentedly, "And who are you?"

Liam drew himself up slightly, "I am Liam Reynolds, Rider of Toothless."

I was still trying to get my voice to work when Merlina turned to all of us, "My name's Merlina 'O' Kiefe current Dragonlord and A Seventh Child of a Seventh Son. That means I am completely bad ass." She crossed her arms across her chest to make her point. She certainly had a high opinion of herself.

"Wow…" Greg said, "She's _hot_!"

Merlina's eyes flashed, literally flashed yellow, "Watch it!" she snapped, "Do you want to end up as a toad!"

"Lady Merlina…What did I say about turning people into toads?" Thor said sternly sounding not unlike a parent.

"Just Lina!" Melrina whined, "I don't like all those formalities!"

"We are on a bit of a tight schedule." Thor said, "Lady Melrina, you need to escort these Riders to Berk Town."

"Right, right," Merlina said, "Let me call Aithusa." She walked past us to the cave's entrance took a deep breath and shouted, "O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!" but it sounded more like she was roaring.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"I…don't…know…" Dad said weakly also completely overwhelmed at everything that had just happened in past few minutes.

There was a loud roar and several thuds, a really big Dragon was coming here. I ran over to the cave entrance where Merlina was standing and was immediately buffeted by downdrafts coming from a huge white Dragon.

"HEEEEEEEY!" melrina started jumping up and down waving her arms like she was signaling the Dragon for a landing, "Aithusa! Down here!"

I gaped like an idiot. Wild Dragons listened to no one, except their mother, and this Merlina girl could call a wild Dragon like a taxi. This was just freaking impossible. The Dragon landed sweeping his wings up and tucking them close to his body. Merlina ran over soon as her way was clear and the Dragon lowered his head and Merlina hugged the Dragon's head.

"What did I just see?" I asked as Dad and Ethan came up next to me, "She just called a wild Dragon like the ice cream truck and ran over and greeted him like a puppy."

"She really is a Dragonlord…" Ethan said, "Isn't she?"

"We're…we're probably just dreaming…" I said, "I must have banged my head extremely hard while Chief had us go up against some mutants and soon I'll wake up back in my room…" I turned away from the cave entrance muttering this repeatedly.

My brain had officially broken.

I tottered over to the nearest rock and sat down on it and began to massage my temples. I bent over resting my forehead on my knees and just tried not the think at all.

"Erika? Are you going to be okay?" Liam's voice said.

"I think my brain just exploded." I mumbled.

"I think mine did too." Liam said in agreement, "This…wow…" he sat down next to me.

We just sat there while everyone else also tried to process what had just happened. Some girl from before WWIII was alive and well right before us and she was a Dragonlord. A Dragonlord. They were the stuff of legends. Powerful magic users who could command Dragons with ease, supposedly they were all killed during an event known as the Great Magic Disaster. But here was one now. One Dragonlord must have survived in hiding. Merlin.

"Hey are you two Zombies gonna come or what?" Merlina said. I looked up to see her bending over to look at Liam and I, "We're leaving in a few minutes soon as Drakke gets back from the nest."

"Alright, alright." I said, "Miss bossy." Merlina just stuck her tongue out at me. For being about twenty years old she sure acted more like a young teenager. Maybe younger siblings always retain some degree of childishness. That would defiantly explain why Ethan was so immature at times.

Soon as Drakke came back from the nest in the caldera we were en route to Old Berk.

The trip through the fog, a roller coaster has nothing on it. No airship, could get through all the sea stacks without crashing and burning into the sea. The only way you can get to and from Dragon Island is Dragonback or having a Dragon navigator on board your airship. This place is like a Bermuda Triangle. Navigation equipment and radar just go on the fritz in the vicinity.

We dove, turned, and hurdled through the fog and around, under, and over the sea stacks. Even with my experience of crazy stunts while flying with Zephyr, I was feeling pretty queasy when we came out over open sea. The white Dragon, Aithusa was at the head of our group with Merlina sitting right on top of his head. I could also hear a lot of whooping coming from her too.

I guess if you were encased in crystal for over 70 years you were entitled to do some things like that.

With winter here, it was very dark and there was a frigid wind blowing and it was also snowing. This was the perfect way to fly. I shifted in my saddle so I was standing in the stirrups and pulled my sweater coller over my mouth and nose.

"Ready for a little fun Zeph?" I said. Zeph gave a bark of approval and went into a dive towards the ocean's surface. I could hear someone shouting but I ignored them and continued with my dive, pulling Zeph out from it just before we could hit the water and shot back up to leavel out next to Dad and Coal.

"I see you're still dive bombing." Dad said, "But do your old man a favor and fly normally for now okay?"

"Yes Dad." I said in mock irritation. Dad just laughed.

The flight to Old Berk was a long one. I was starting to nod off in my saddle and I was sure I had counted at least four meteors. Yawning I tried to stay awake the fact that our surroundings all looked the same didn't help either. It was dark, snowy, and there was ocean under us for the past several hours. Jet, Toothless, and Coal were almost invisible in the near blackness of night while Aithusa was practically glowing. I blinked sleepily and fumbled around for the extra straps of my saddle. I just wanted a few winks of sleep-even though my back would be killing me when I woke up.

I was right about my back. A very annoying ache woke me up several hours later and my chin was rubbed raw from resting it on Zephyr's head.

"Rise and shine." Merlina's voice said from above me. I looked up and saw her looking down to me from Aithusa's head looking bright and perky. I just grumbled and pulled out some energy gum from my pocket.

"Oh! Gum!" Merlina said, "Can I have some please?"

I chuckled, "Well, since you said please," I pulled Zephyr up next to Aithusa's head and handed her the pack of gum. She popped two pieces into her mouth and handed the pack back to me.

"Thanks!" she chirped then patted Aithusa's head, "Holding up there Aithy?"

"Aithy?" I asked.

"That's his nickname." Merlina said, "Cute isn't it?"

"You're a Dragonlord, Merlin's a thousand times great granddaughter, and a mega powerful magic user and you're giving cute nicknames to Dragons?"

"So?" Merlina asked.

"Never mind." I said and leaned forwards to send Zephyr ona new spurt of speed.

Old Berk was finally visible. It was a huge mountain coming out of the ocean. Dad and Gramps had said that it had been like discovering a huge forestry mountain rising up from the ocean, but now it was grey, barren, and burnt. Smoke was still rising from the ground from the fire burned into the ground forty years ago.

How could anyone be there? It looked as though the island itself had died.

An hour later we were standing in the ruins of the town of Old Berk. Destroyed buildings and rubble were everywhere, leftovers of when the island was attacked and overrun.

"Feels strange…" Dad said, "It's so quiet…"

"It's like we're the only ones alive here…" Ethan said and that was probably true. I walked towards a dilapidated shop and picked up a what looked like a toy Dragon. It was hard to believe that only a few short decades ago this town was loud, busy, and full of life. The dusty and partially destroyed toy in my hands only made this scene even sadder. This was probably a toy that one of the kids here had played with and likely had been killed when the Red Death attacked.

"Where do we go from here?" Gramps asked.

"I don't know…" I said, "I don't know…" I turned to Toothless, "Where do you think we should go Toothless?"

Toothless snorted and sniffed the air for a few seconds then snorted again shaking his head and moaned. I didn't have to ask Liam to translate. I knew that he had no idea either.

"Merlina," I said turning to face her, "Please say you have some sort of GPS superpower to locate people."

Melrin shook her head and shrugged, "I can't do that unless I've actually met the person first. And there's no time portals around here for my convenient use."

I groaned, did we just come here on a wild goose chase?

"We need to find a place to set up camp if we're going to be here for a while." Dad said, "The old Meade Hall will be a good place. Good thing the Viking Village didn't take too much damage."

The Viking Village was a sort of tourist attraction. It was a recreation of Old Berk from the tenth century. And Dad and Gramps have told Ethan, Sean and I so many stories about the shark rug in the Chief's house that Dad and Uncle Tyler kept tripping over it and that Gramps had rigged a counter and gave a prize to every hundredth person who tripped over the shark rug.

Why would a Viking have a shark rug you ask? Just because.

It took forever getting to the Viking Village mostly because of all the rubble and the huge trenches that were dug up by the Red Death's attack. We had to negotiate several fallen beams and a few collapsed buildings often having to go through them. The worst part of going through any ruined city is all the skeletons. It just shows you how many died and the effect is infinitely more jarring than any post apocalyptical movie.

"Man…" Greg said, "You always hear about how bad it was but to see it for real…"

"Yeah…" Sean muttered, "Sad…real sad…"

"I used to get ice cream from that shop." Dad said, "The owner was constantly complaining that all the Dragons would make the ice cream melt."

This was all having a profound effect on us but I think it was affecting Merlina the most.

"All this was happening while I was asleep?" she muttered, "Professor 'O' Hara…why?"

"You were one of Alvin's students?" Ethan asked coming up next to Merlina.

"Yeah, I was in one of his lecture classes, elemental control." Merlina said, "Avalon University. He had adopted Toothless, his kid Seamus was constantly telling his parents how much he wanted a Night Fury. Then he started acting strange…I went into Dublin to investigate and when I got to there…Zombies were everywhere."

"Then what happened?" I asked.

"Well…" Merlina said, "Toothless was able to get me back to Avalon University and the headmaster told me I had to get to England and gave me this beat up old sword."

"A sword?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah and instructions to find a fountain marked by a rectangular stone, where Merlin sleeps." Merlina said.

My brain broke again.

Merlina continued, "I tried to find Merlin's resting place to wake him up so he could help me, but…I was attacked by mutants. If Thor hadn't been nearby I would've been a goner."

"Was that when he froze you in crystal?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said it was for my safety." Merlina said, "That I would be needed in the future and that I had to be alive for it. Whatever "it" is. Stupid gods never give you details. I now know how Percy Jackson feels."

I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but I was pretty sure I heard thunder. I could distinctly imagine Thor saying: "Watch it…"

Ethan laughed weakly, "Merlin? Are…are you saying that all that Camelot stuff was real?"

"Yeah." Merlina said, "My very first adventure was getting sucked into the tenth century and right into Camelot." She told us about all the adventures she had. Ethan listened to her rapturously. I turned around and went back to join Liam. I did NOT want my brain breaking more than once.

Liam and I just walked side by side for a while not saying anything and half-listening to Merlina and everyone else. Aside from my brain on the verge of shutting down, I was still pretty confused about Liam's sudden confession from the other day. I had to think. Sure Arthur and I had been going pretty steady for a few years but ever since Liam arrived in New Berk all those months ago…Had I also been having feelings for him since then? Was my telling myself that Arthur and were going steady just an excuse? Did…did I…?

"Erika are you okay?" Liam asked.

I decided this wasn't the time to be tough.

"No." I said. Immediately Liam put an arm around my shoulders, "Thanks Liam." I said.

Sometime that afternoon we finally reached the Meade Hall. The two story doors were half collapsed into the large cave that once served as a social gathering place for the Viking who once lived here. The inside was an absolute mess. Chairs, tables, and display items were strewn everywhere. It looked like some mutants had thrown a Frat party, gotten drunk, and completely trashed the place then again on the hung over morning while trying to clean up. The only things missing were the togas and red cups and beer bottle to complete the Frat party aftermath scene.

"Let's get a fire going." Arthur said, "And we should also do some recon to make sure no Mutants are hiding out here."

So once we got a good campfire going and camp set up we decided who would go out and check the rest of the Meade Hall. I paired up with Liam, Arthu went with Fred, and Merlina paire dup with Ethan (who was blushing furiously, doesn't he know she's about 80 years too old for him?)

"This shouldn't take too long." I said, "The Meade Hall isn't that big. We should be able to sweep it in an hour or two."

"Okay, the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get some rest." Merlina said, :And if we do run into any Mutants or weirdos…I'll turn them into toads!" she had this manic glint in her eyes that really did make her look insane.

The only things Liam and I found was some broken glass, a few old swords, and a helmet. Now contrary to popular belief not ALL Vikings wore the horned helmets, it was mainly the Berk Vikings and some Celtic tribes. The theory was that the tribe that lived here was of mixed Celt and Scandinavian blood so maybe some Celt fashion just stuck. Any other Vikings who wore the horned helmets were FAIRY TALE Vikings.

"Well, so far no Mutants." Liam said, "Just some junk and all this Viking stuff." He knelt down and lifted one of the helmets off the ground, examined it, then put it on.

"What do you think?" Liam asked.

"Liam, I think that's a breastplate." I said. Liam froze. The gingerly lifted the "breast-hat" from his head and carefully set it down being careful not to touch the top, I had to laugh.

"Didn't you know?" I asked between guffaws, "The Vikings who lived here made helmets out of breastplates!"

Liam shuddered, "I wish I didn't…and…" he put both of his hands on his head, "To think that a woman had breasts as big as my head…" his whole face was flaming red.

"Makes you wonder what they were eating doesn't it?" I asked.

"Well it was all tough and tasteless I can tell you that much." A very familiar voice said. Liam and I both nearly jumped out of our skins! I grabbed my gun and Liam drew his sword and we both whirled around to face…to face…

I had no idea who he was. He looked like an older version of Liam. Dark red hair pulled back into a ponytail, freckles, dark green eyes, and a little bit of peach fuzz on his chin and jaw. He was wearing typical Viking garb, mostly dark greens and browns, a sleeveless shirt of chainmail, leather boots, a bearskin vest, and a layered tunic lined with runes. All finished off with a short sword at his side and a bow and a quiver of arrows across his back.

"Who're you?" I asked stupidly.

The Viking frowned at me almost pouting, "Erika, Liam don't you recognize me? It's me Hiccup?"

I almost dropped my gun.

"H-H-H-H-H-H-Hiccup!" I stammered, "I-i-is that?"

"Yeah, it's me." Hiccup said, "In the flesh, sort of."

I blinked.

"Sort of?" Liam asked, "What do you mean sort of? Are you a ghost?"

I immediately started poking him. If he was a ghost my finger would go right through him.

"Ow! Wh-why are you poking me?"

Poke, poke, poke, poke.

"Wow…he's real…" I said still poking Hiccup.

"Stop!" Hiccup yelped backpedaling away from me flapping his arms around like a windmill, "Why do you keep doing stuff like that!"

"You're real…" I said, "You're not a ghost. Does that mean…"

"Oh…" Hiccup said, "I'm dead alright, but I'm not a ghost, I'm an Einherjar."

And my brain broke for the third time today.

The world really was coming to an end.

We decided to go back to the camp quickly afterward, only to find that back at camp, things once again got even _stranger_. As if supposedly meeting the god of thunder wasn't weird enough. There were twelve men in chainmail all sitting around the campfire and Merlina was talking to them like they were all high school buddies!

Ethan was on the floor in a fetal position and being fussed over by the burliest knight of the bunch. Arthur was off in some corner trying to comprehend everything, Sean was clearly having a migrane, Fred was chatting it up with the curly haired knight also wearing a red cloak, Greg and Jean were checking out the knights' swords. And Dad was trying not to have a nerd attack. Gramps was just watching everything rather passively, I guess old people just don't get fazed out that much.

"Oh hey guys!" Merlina said turning around, "Lemme introduce you to the Knights of the Round Table!"

And then more Vikings showed up.

* * *

**Did your brains break too? Good. That was my intention.**

**and if you know your mythology seeing an Einherjar wandering around our fair Midgard can only mean one thing. yup. Ragnorak.**

**So As a little announcement, this will become a two parter fic. This arc is almost done and volume two willbbr titled Fimblturv (sp?)**

**I don't have anything else to say but good luck on finals my fellow college students and hope everyone has a good summer!**

**Oh and I'll also be posting the first chapter of my Melrin fanfic soon too.**

**Kinda the reason for my lateness, juggling fanfics for HTTYD, Melrin, Zelda, and Tales of Symphonia.**

**Yes those of you who recall I ahd a fic called Two Lives, One Soul, that fic will be returning in good time. I just need to revamp it and replan the story out.**

**Well, I need to rest my brain too after all the craziness in this fic.**

**Be on the lookout for Chapter 20: Never give Vikings exsplosives**

**Chocobo_Scribe signing out!**


	21. Notice

**Okay guys I'm sorry I haven't updated for a year but I just can't get any more motivation for Promises right now. I'll keep it up for a week to give you time to download it then I'm taking it off until I can get some motivation back.**

**In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy the Merlin and Rise of the Guardians fanfictions I have up my sleeve I just have more motivation for those fandoms right now and I am sure you'll enjoy them.**

**To Sky High Fan- I love you for your needling reminders for me to update but I can't get any motivation for Promises, I feel like the story is getting dragged out and I need to wrap it up within ten chapters so to you I give this solem duty. GIVE ME INSPIRATION. Oh and remind me to update my newer fanfics.**

**I'm so glad you all like this story reading your reviews always brings a huge smile to my face and I hope this story can get some life brought back into it.**

**Cheers!**

**Chocobo_Scribe**


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